WHO released the position paper on building health systems resilience for UHC and health security during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. The paper, which has been developed by WHO across the Life Course division and the WHO Health Emergencies Programme including colleagues across WHO Regional Offices, provides a series of recommendations to political leaders, Member States and partners on positioning health within the wider discussions on socioeconomic recovery and the agenda of building back better. The paper sets a vision for cross-divisional work within WHO on building resilience through strengthening primary health care-oriented health systems and health security. The launch event included participation by the WHO Director-General, Deputy Director-General and Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. A joint presentation was delivered by the Director of the WHO Special Programme on Primary Health Care (PHC SP) and the Director of Health Security Preparedness. The Deputy Director of PHC SP moderated the panel discussion that involved participation from the ministries of health of Pakistan, Uruguay, Sri Lanka, South Sudan, Slovenia and Kenya, as well as WHO Regional Directors from the WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean and the WHO Regional Office for South East Asia, as well as representatives from the African Region, the European Region and the Region of the Americas. Over 1 000 participants joined on Zoom, and approximately 30 000 people viewed the stream on Twitter and YouTube, and the video on WHO’s 7 recommendations received over 56 000 views. The recording of the launch event is available on this webpage.

The paper reinforces the urgent need for renewed and heightened national and global commitment to make countries better prepared and health systems resilient against all forms of public health threats for sustained progress towards both UHC and health security. It calls for:

• investing in primary health care and essential public health functions while addressing gaps in health systems foundations
• strengthening preparedness of countries to tackle all forms of public health threats
• ensuring whole-of-government and whole-of-society engagement to position health as central to socioeconomic growth and resilience.

In brief: WHO’s 7 policy recommendations on building resilient health systems based on primary health care

1. Leverage the current response to strengthen both pandemic preparedness and health systems
2. Invest in essential public health functions including those needed for all-hazards emergency risk management
3. Build a strong primary health care foundation
4. Invest in institutionalized mechanisms for whole-of-society engagement
5. Create and promote enabling environments for research, innovation and learning
6. Increase domestic and global investment in health system foundations and all-hazards emergency risk management
7. Address pre-existing inequities and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on marginalized and vulnerable populations