Health Security as a Cornerstone of National Security

The objective of this World Health Summit session is to take stock of the priorities for building stronger health security systems globally and to reflect on the outcomes of the Pandemic Agreement negotiations, the UNGA High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, alongside progress driven regionally and nationally.

The renewed importance of robust preparedness needs to be viewed as part of broader national security strategies aimed at protecting both civilian populations and military personnel from health threats, including natural and artificial biothreats that may be used as weapons. The investment targets of 0.1–0.2% of GDP for health security proposed by the G20 Independent Panel and others should be seen as only a fraction of defense spending.

We will also discuss how better preparedness delivers real economic value, both by strengthening the bioeconomy and by avoiding the substantial costs of trying to catch up with large disease outbreaks after they have already spread.