Global leaders, Member States and partners gathered yesterday on the sidelines of the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly (WHA79) for the launch of the Global Health Emergency Corps (GHEC) Strategy, a shared vision to build an emergency-ready and resilient health workforce in every country by 2030.

The side event, co-hosted by Ethiopia, Germany and Brazil and supported by the Gates Foundation and the Institute of Philanthropy, highlighted the urgent need to invest in health emergency preparedness and strengthen coordination across countries and regions given the increasingly complex nature of health emergencies.

The GHEC Strategy aims to translate global commitments under the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the Pandemic Agreement into practical national capacities by strengthening emergency health workforces and improving coordination, interoperability and surge response mechanisms. It sets a clear benchmark – ensuring that 10% of the health workforce in every country is organized, trained, exercised and connected to respond to emergencies by 2030