UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness · 2-minute statement
Thank you, Chair.
I am honoured to speak on behalf of the Global Alliance for Surgical, Obstetric, Trauma, and Anaesthesia Care (G4 Alliance), representing the global surgical community. I also work at HEAL Africa Hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where communities have experienced the impact of Ebola outbreaks, COVID-19, conflict, and other health emergencies firsthand. The lessons from these crises are clear: pandemic preparedness cannot be built only around surveillance, laboratories, vaccines, and therapeutics. It must also be built on resilient frontline health systems capable of caring for critically ill patients when outbreaks occur.
Surgical and anaesthesia systems are a vital but often overlooked pillar of pandemic preparedness. During COVID-19 and Ebola responses, surgical and anaesthesia teams brought expertise in infection prevention and control, oxygen therapy, critical care, emergency response, triage, and safe clinical practices. The same infrastructure that supports safe surgery supports outbreak response.
Yet major gaps remain. An estimated five billion people still lack access to safe, timely, and affordable surgical and anaesthesia care, while more than five billion people also lack access to safe and affordable medical oxygen services. Recent evidence shows that only about one-third of people in low- and middle-income countries who need oxygen for acute medical or surgical conditions receive it.
Investments in operating theatres, oxygen systems, critical care capacity, supply chains, and a trained health workforce are therefore not only investments in surgery. They are investments in pandemic preparedness, health security, and universal health coverage. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that countries with stronger clinical care capacity were better able to absorb surges, save lives, and maintain essential services.
As Member States consider the future of pandemic preparedness, we urge that surgical, obstetric, trauma, and anaesthesia care be recognized as an essential component of resilient health systems. Building this capacity, alongside community engagement and education, will save lives every day and strengthen our collective ability to respond to the next pandemic.
The ability to care for critically ill patients must not be an afterthought. It must be a cornerstone of preparedness.
Thank you.