Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, speaks at a meeting of the UN General Assembly (Photo: VNA) New York (VNA) – Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, Permanent Representativeof Vietnam to the United Nations, on December 7 delivered a statement introducing the draftresolution on International Day of Epidemic Preparedness at the 75th session of the UN General Assembly. Following is the full text of thestatement.
Thankyou, Mr. President,
Onbehalf of Canada, the Republic of Niger, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, theRepublic of Senegal, the Kingdom of Spain and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Ihave the honour to introduce the draft resolution contained in document A/75/L.18, entitled “InternationalDay of Epidemic Preparedness” under agenda item 131 of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Mr. President and Excellencies,
TheCOVID-19 pandemic has spread worldwide, causing devastating impacts on human lives.However, this is not the first epidemic that we have faced in the past years,and it will no be the last. We have witnessed other epidemics, such as HIV/AIDS,Ebola, MERS, SARS, and H1N1, among others. In the future, another epidemic can breakout at any moment and surpass previous incidences in termsof intensity and gravity ifpreparation is not made.
TheGeneral Assembly, in its Declaration on the commemoration of the seventy-fifthanniversary of the United Nations, points out that we all shall be prepared. Thepandemic caught us off guard, but it also has served as a wake-up call forimproving our preparedness.
Mr.President and Excellencies,
Webelieve that observing an International Day on Epidemic Preparedness will be a prominent way to achieve this goal. The Day will remind all stakeholders of theimpacts left by recent past epidemics and the need to have a permanent sense ofepidemic prevention in all of their activities. In addition, it will underline the need to raise the level of preparedness inorder to have the earliest and most adequate response to any epidemic that mayarise. Last but not least, it willstress the importance of partnership among every individual, community, state, and also regional and international organizationsin all stages of epidemic management.
Mr.President and Excellencies,
Throughoutthe negotiation process ofthis resolution, we have sought to listen to thepriorities of our fellow Member States and to reflect these in the text. We arevery pleased that the text successfully passed the silence procedure and now is readyfor your consideration.
Takingthis opportunity, we would like to express our sincere appreciation to alldelegations for their participation in the negotiation. I would also like tothank the delegations, who have joined the co-sponsorship on this resolution. Wehope all Member States will continue to kindly support the draft resolution byadopting it by consensus.
Wethank you./.
VNA
