The Global Pandemic Preparedness Summit 2024, co-hosted by Brazil’s Ministry of Health, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz) and CEPI, concluded today in Rio de Janeiro with a strong call for global leaders to reignite efforts to transform the world's ability to prepare and respond to future pandemics.

Amid the heightened risk of new deadly disease outbreaks that can strike anywhere at any time, 350 experts from governments, civil society, industry and health organisations around the world gathered at the Summit—held during Brazil’s 2024 G20 presidency—to harness scientific progress and political will to reinvigorate momentum around the pandemic preparedness agenda.

Spanning two days of discussions from over 80 expert speakers, the landmark event discussed lessons from COVID-19 and the progress made and challenges faced as the world strives to be better prepared to face down future pandemic threats rapidly and equitably. 

Conversations centred around efforts to ramp up disease surveillance, regional manufacturing and access to health tools and countermeasures that could combat epidemic and pandemic threats in as little as 100 days. The ambitious 100 Days Mission, spearheaded by CEPI and embraced by G7 and G20 nations, seeks to develop vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics against a novel viral threat in just over a three-month period. Achieving this goal—around a third of the time it took to create a COVID-19 vaccine—would give the world a fighting chance at stopping the next pandemic in its tracks.

Other discussions delved into whether the world is ready for a zoonotic influenza pandemic, how climate change is heightening epidemic risk, pandemic financing and the latest developments with the Pandemic Agreement negotiations.

In recognition of the need for strengthened preparedness and greater equity, organisations based in the Global South signed the Rio de Janeiro Declaration at the Summit. The statement, spearheaded by Fiocruz, calls for greater collaboration between partners within the Global North and Global South to overcome disparities in access to health tools and countermeasures in low- and middle-income countries. The Declaration also urges global health partners to prioritise research and equitable access policies to focus on end-to-end R&D and support the establishment of the Alliance for Regional and Local Production, Innovation and Access, as discussed within Brazil’s G20 Presidency framework.