NCD Alliance welcomes the recognition from global leaders that stronger legal frameworks are needed for international health emergency preparedness and response. They must reflect on the hardest lessons from COVID-19.

"The major causes of death and disability worldwide – NCDs – increase vulnerability to epidemics and must be included in any new treaty, as indispensable for better preparedness for future health challenges. This means gathering better data to know who is at risk; preventing NCDs by tackling their root causes; and ensuring everyone has access to the care they need, leaving no one left behind", said Katie Dain, CEO of the NCD Alliance. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator has just launched a call to all nations work together towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response. "Today, we hold the same hope that as we fight to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic together, we can build a more robust international health architecture that will protect future generations. There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone. The question is not if, but when. Together, we must be better prepared to predict, prevent, detect, assess and effectively respond to pandemics in a highly coordinated fashion."

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