Today, the nations of the world take a giant step toward protecting the health of humanity by adopting amendments to the International Health Regulations, building on the lessons we learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. Our first responsibility has always been to protect the lives and livelihood of the American people and the security of our country. With this agreement, we take steps to hold countries accountable and strengthen measures to stop outbreaks before they threaten Americans and our security. This historic agreement to strengthen the world’s rules of the road affirms our longstanding commitment to global health equity and security. It animates unprecedented cooperation towards achieving a global pandemic preparedness and response agreement.