25 September 2025—A new Political Declaration adopted today by the United Nations General Assembly recognises that the world remains insufficiently prepared for the next pandemic, including the urgent need to strengthen and invest in the health and care workforce to reverse staffing shortages and often constrained working conditions.
The Declaration, approved during the second UN High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR), sets out what needs to be done to strengthen countries’ capacities to prevent, prepare for, respond to and mitigate the impact of future pandemics. The World Health Professions Alliance (WHPA) welcomes the recognition that countries need to “develop, strengthen, protect, safeguard, retain and invest in a multidisciplinary, skilled, adequate, trained, health and care workforce.”
However, WHPA is concerned that this recognition is not matched by concrete commitments to action. The Declaration sets out no targets for strengthening the health workforce and does not identify the sustainable financing needed to turn these commitments into reality. Health professionals cannot be expected to meet extraordinary demands during a crisis if they are already overstretched in routine care.
Health professionals must be at the heart of pandemic preparedness, not simply mentioned in declarations. Governments need to invest now in workforce development and in the working conditions that will enable health professionals to provide safe, quality care before, during and after a pandemic.
WHPA is represented in New York by one its founding members, the International Council of Nurses (ICN), which has also organized a side event on the margins of the UN General Assembly with a focus on interdisciplinary workforce solutions for more resilient and pandemic-ready health systems. Speakers emphasised the urgent need for investment in health professionals, including strengthening workforce development and ensuring that health professionals on the frontline have decent working conditions throughout the pandemic cycle. Safe and supportive working environments, as outlined in WHPA’s Positive Practice Environments campaign, can help attract and retain the skilled professionals needed to respond effectively in an emergency.
Effective pandemic preparedness also requires connected leadership and meaningful engagement with health professional associations in policy development and implementation. Health professionals and their organisations bring essential frontline expertise and stand ready to support governments and health partners in building resilient health systems.
Sustainable investment in the health and care workforce must now move from commitment on paper to action in practice.