About the Global Health Security Summit

About the Summit

Introduction

The Global Health Security Agenda is a global effort towards the existence of strong and resilient public health systems that can prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats, wherever they occur in the world. In order to work towards common objective, more than 70 countries international organizations, NGOs and private sector companies have come together and have signed onto the GHSA framework, including Pakistan, to achieve the vision of a world safe and secure from Global health threats posed by infectious diseases.

Pakistan is a current Chair of GHSA and has made a strong commitment to GHSA initiative since its initial launch in 2015 and continues to support its strategic priorities in its renewal. The USAID, U.S. CDC, UK-FCDO, UK-HSA, EU, WHO, UNICEF, OIE, FAO, ADB and WB and other health security partner’s organizations and member states play a leading role in supporting progress towards the GHSA target, by working directly with partner countries in making public health systems resilient and strong, in order to reduce the health, social and economic impacts due to infectious disease outbreaks, pandemic or public health emergency of international concern.

Aims and Objectives

In order to be a part of this global efforts towards a safer world, Government of Pakistan, Ministry of National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination, aims and intends to hold the two days Global Health Security Summit 2024, from January 10-11, 2024, at Islamabad, and invite global leaders around the world , international organizations , civil society and country participants who can participate, engage with each other and agree to solutions for making the world safer and future generations healthier.

Key strategic objectives

1) To collaborate with global leaders in order to ensure equity based pandemic preparedness financing for low- and lower-middle income countries
2) Mutual exchange of knowledge and rich experience with member states and experts around summit thematic areas which focuses on vaccine equity, patent deregulation and transfer of technology
3) Secure global & regional partnership with international organizations for aligning its health security priorities with those of global and regional priorities, in order to strengthening its core capacities through technical assistance
4) Explore opportunities of joint working and pool funding for health security / IHR 2005, across the region and globe (pandemic fund) for dealing with health emergencies, in addition to the sustainable domestic funding for five-year health security plan
5) Making health ‘Apolitical’, in wake of conflict and political crises

At the end of two days’ deliberations, future global health security charter will be agreed and signed to build up a narrative for equity based pandemic charter and financing facility on the mutually agreed upon “Islamabad charter” for making health systems resilient. This will also show case health security by putting up a coordinated “One Health response” to any threat.

Thematic Areas

The Slogan for Summit would be “Together for a Healthy Planet”. The key thematic areas of the summit would be based on following critical areas under GHSA/IHR 2005.

I. Impact of Global Health Security on National Security
II. Pandemic Preparedness & Response
III. Climate change and Emerging public health threats
IV. Multi-sectoral coordination in context of One Health
V. Sustainable financing based on equity for Global Health Security & access to Universal Health Coverage/PHC platform to achieve SDG3; ensuring vaccine equity; patent deregulation and transfer of vaccine manufacturing technology

The five thematic areas will be having subthemes for keynote speakers / presentation followed by Q&A and discussions, to engage relevant stakeholders, resulting in actionable points at the end of each sub thematic discussions.