Announcement of the New Seoul Declaration at the 2022 Global Health Security Initiative (GHSA) Ministerial Meeting
– The 3rd GHSA will promote the establishment of a GHS coordinating office in Seoul from 2024 to 2028 –
– Main Content –
□ Successful completion of the 7th Ministerial Meeting of the Global Health Security Initiative (GHSA)
○ Announcement of the New Seoul Declaration containing the future vision of GHSA
○ Extend GHSA activities to the 3rd term (’24-’28) and promote the establishment of a coordinating office in Seoul
□ The 7th ministerial meeting of the 「Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA)」, which discussed ways to strengthen the global health security response system in preparation for new infectious diseases, was successfully concluded.
○ At this meeting, which was held as the first face-to-face meeting since the outbreak of COVID-19, the GHSA’s activities so far were evaluated and the New Seoul Declaration was adopted, suggesting areas to focus future capabilities.
○ The New Seoul Declaration extends GHSA activities into the third phase (2024-28), establishes a GHS coordination office in Seoul to support the improvement of multi-sector coordination, sharing of best practices, and the technical work of the action plan. It includes the implementation of plans, etc.
□ [장관회의] Representatives from 27 countries, 10 international organizations, and 20 embassies attended the ministerial meeting held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Seoul (Grand Ballroom on the 1st floor), discussed the past and future of GHSA, and announced the New Seoul Declaration.
○ Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong said in his opening remarks, “Korea has successfully faced the threat of COVID-19 thanks to its enhanced infectious disease response capabilities through GHSA and active international cooperation.”
– It was emphasized that the world can protect health security through multi-sectoral cooperation and international cooperation through GHSA.
○ Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin said in his opening remarks, “As a global pivotal country, we will contribute to creating a safer and healthier world.”
– Stressed the need to strengthen national health systems, the urgency of improving the global health system, and the importance of a coordinated response inclusive of all stakeholders.
○ Through a keynote speech, KCDC Director Baek Gyeong-ran emphasized the uniqueness of GHSA as the only international consultative body that is organized beyond borders and fields and regularly conducts consultations.
– By developing Joint External Evaluation (JEE) and evaluating the level of implementation of the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization (WHO) by country,
– The most important achievement of GHSA was the provision of guidelines for strengthening capacity to prepare for infectious disease crises,
– Four policy priorities identified through COVID-19: 1) continuous and bold financial investment, 2) development of a wide variety of capabilities such as institutional and legal reforms and crisis communication, 3) cooperation between various stakeholders, 4) mobilization of international resources , prepare plans for mutual cooperation for distribution and utilization;
– The 3rd GHSA emphasized the need to systematically improve the capacity to respond to future pandemics through the development of short- and long-term projects centered on action plans.
○ In Part 1, which reviewed the past achievements of GHSA, Lee Jong-goo, former Health Security Ambassador, Lim In-taek, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Stella Chungong, WHO Health Security Preparedness Director, and Christopher Daniel, the U.S. Department of Defense Global Health Cooperation Appointment Following the presentation of the topic by the advisor, comments from the ministers followed.
○ In Part 2, which presented the vision for the future of GHSA, Georgetown University Professor John Manahan, World Bank Health Director Juan Pablo Uribe, Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Robin Davies, Aaron Jay (Aaron Jay), Director, Joint Threat Reduction Policy Division, US Department of Defense, and Tares Krassannairawiwong, Director General, Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, followed the ministerial discussions.
○ Next, the announcement of the New Seoul Declaration and the closing ceremony followed.
□ [新서울선언문] The New Seoul Declaration, adopted and announced at the ministerial meeting, looks back on GHSA’s past achievements and presents its future vision.
○ GHSA played an important role in promoting the need for a government-wide, whole-society approach to respond to public health crises caused by infectious diseases.
– Evaluated for building technical expertise and collaborating through the Action Plan for Infectious Disease Prevention, Detection and Response to strengthen national capacity and advance regional and global health security.
○ Regarding the vision of the 3rd phase of GHSA, which will be carried out for 5 years from 2024 to 2028, while declaring efforts to fully implement the International Health Regulations (IHR) and strengthening technological capabilities at the national level,
○ In particular, it was requested that the leading group develop an action plan that includes the following contents and share it with member countries by December 2023.
– Capacity-building measures, including technical and multidisciplinary discussions
– Administrative efficiency
– Detailed plan including GHSA external evaluation schedule to be released in 2026
○ Lastly, he welcomed the plan to promote the establishment of a global health security (GHS) coordinating office in Korea, which is the host country of this conference and one of the leading groups, to contribute to discussions and effective coordination of the 3rd GHSA.
□ [개최 성과] The meeting was evaluated as being very timely in overcoming COVID-19 and responding to new infectious diseases that may emerge in the future by comprehensively dealing with topics related to global health and security.
○ Unlike the 6th Ministerial Meeting, which was held via video conference due to COVID-19, a face-to-face meeting led to more effective discussions. is also evaluated.
○ It is evaluated that the simulated training in preparation for new infectious diseases became a substantial training by focusing on decision-making issues that health and security staff should solve in real situations.
○ In addition, the expert forum in nine fields, including the vaccination action plan expert forum held by Korea as a leading country, was a meaningful opportunity to share best practices and experiences of member countries and organizations on various topics.
○ In particular, the New Seoul Declaration adopted at the ministerial meeting is meaningful in that it reviewed GHSA’s past achievements and supplemented the shortcomings to present a vision for the future.
– At the time of extending the GHSA activity period, Korea is expected to play a key role in the global health security system in the future by holding a ministerial meeting in 2022 and promoting the establishment of a GHS office in the future.
<붙임> 1. Overview of the Global Health Security Initiative (GHSA)
2. Full schedule of the Global Health Security Initiative (GHSA)
3. Full text of the New Seoul Declaration
