Esteemed colleagues, we are nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic.

Like most countries, Israel suffered during the pandemic, and each life lost is a tragedy. We are not yet in the clear. We should not expect that the new Omicron variant would be the last variant of concern.

We want to thank South Africa for sharing the information with the international community. Only by sharing our findings and lessons learned, we can overcome this pandemic.  

We must continue to support medical staff who have been on the front lines of the pandemic since the beginning. In support of their work, we must learn from this pandemic, and better prepare for future threats. The COVID-19 crisis serves as a strong reminder that resilient health systems are the backbone of our societies and economies and that close collaboration is imperative in assuring health for all. 

The global system is not ready to deal with a pandemic, existing international tools are not strong enough to prevent future pandemics. Rather, there is a need for a more coordinated response between institutions, countries and international organizations.

We believe that formulating a new international tool, focusing on pandemic prevention is a necessary step. The new tool should improve global performance in prevention and preparedness, as well as include a response mechanism for a future epidemic outbreak.

We see the World Health Organization as the main body to lead this move and believe that formulating this tool within its framework will help strengthen the organization. Israel believes in a transparent process that takes into account the needs of the countries and will take part in negotiations in the process of designing this tool.

Israel is a small country with advanced information technology and logistics capabilities allowing for a smooth and successful vaccine rollout. This setting provided a robust platform to examine vaccine effectiveness and the impact of high vaccine coverage in real-life conditions at a national level. We will continue to share our lessons learned from the vaccination efforts with the international community.

In the spirit of protecting human lives and “leaving no one behind”, we reiterate Israel’s commitment to strengthening existing tools and creating new mechanisms in order to effectively address the current global challenge and the ones to come. 

Thank you.