Club de Madrid and AHF Global Public Health Institute Co-Host High-Level Roundtable on Rebalancing Global Health

Side Event Co-organized by the Governments of Spain and Zambia on the Margins of the 81st UN General Assembly—Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, 8:30 AM EDT, New York, NY, at the University Club

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Global Public Health Institute, Club de Madrid and partners will join the Governments of Spain and Zambia in co-hosting a high-level roundtable, “Rebalancing Global Health: Regional Platforms, Equity, and Fiscal Space for Public Health Security,” on Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026, from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. at the University Club in New York City and online via Zoom.

The event will occur on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA81) and this week's UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.

The world is entering a decisive moment for global public health. Recurring infectious disease outbreaks, climate-linked health threats, rising antimicrobial resistance and long-standing gaps in access to vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics, surveillance and emergency response capacities have exposed structural weaknesses in the current global health architecture. At the same time, official development assistance has recorded its steepest single-year decline on record, while debt burdens continue to squeeze health budgets in many low- and middle-income countries.

Negotiators are also racing to finalize the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement before May 27, an essential step to implementing the treaty. Against this backdrop, speakers will examine whether regional platforms—from Africa CDC to emerging initiatives in Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean—can serve as a missing pillar between national governments and global institutions in strengthening preparedness, response, equity, and accountability, giving countries greater autonomy while reinforcing global solidarity. The event will also explore what is needed to translate calls for an equitable global health architecture into concrete action.

WHAT:	High-Level Roundtable – “Rebalancing Global Health: Regional Platforms, Equity, and Fiscal Space for Public Health Security.” A 90-minute strategic dialogue exploring regional platforms, the WHO Pandemic Agreement’s PABS annex, and debt relief and fiscal space within a reimagined global public health architecture.
WHEN:	Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026 Registration/Refreshments/Seating: 8:30–9:00 a.m. EDT Program: 9:00–10:30 a.m. EDT
WHERE:	University Club, 1 West 54th Street, New York, NY 10019   Zoom: https://miami.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_unsruay5SfKDzJIVhb8kQg#/registration
WHO:	Welcome: María Elena Agüero, Secretary General, Club de Madrid Moderator: Dr. Jorge Saavedra, Executive Director, AHF Global Public Health Institute (Mexico) Opening Remarks: Michael Weinstein, President, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (United States)   Speakers (in alphabetical order): Minister Roma Chilengi, Ministry of Health, Zambia   Minister Budi Sadikin, Ministry of Health, Indonesia; candidate for Director-General, WHO   H.E. Laura Chinchilla, Former President of Costa Rica; President, Club de Madrid   Prof. Lawrence Gostin, Distinguished Professor, Georgetown University/O’Neill Institute (United States)   Ambassador Mencía Manso de Zúñiga, Spanish Ambassador-at-Large for Global Health   Designated Attendees: Aggrey Aluso, Executive Director, Resilience Action Network Africa (Kenya)   Dr. Ana Amaya, Associate Professor, Pace University & United Nations University (UNU-CRIS) (El Salvador/United States)   Kinz ul Eman, Global South CSO Alternate Board Member, Pandemic Fund Governing Board (Pakistan)   Mokgweetsi Masisi, Former President of Botswana; Club de Madrid Member
MEDIA CONTACTS:	Denys Nazarov, Director of Global Policy & Communications, AHF, +1.323.308.1829, [e-mail] Ged Kenslea, Senior Director, Communications, AHF, +1.323.308.1833 (work), +1.323.791.5526 (mobile), [e-mail]

ROUNDTABLE OBJECTIVES:

The roundtable will bring together senior government officials, global health experts, as well as civil society, academia, and multilateral institutions to advance a high-level political conversation on reimagining global health governance, with regional platforms positioned as essential instruments for preparedness, response, equity and delivery. Discussion will also examine how the WHO Pandemic Agreement and its PABS Annex can operationalize equitable access and benefit-sharing, and how debt relief, restructuring, and new fiscal mechanisms can expand the fiscal space national and regional health systems need.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest HIV/AIDS healthcare organization, provides cutting-edge medicine and advocacy to more than 3.2 million people across 50 countries, including the U.S. and in Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. In January 2025, AHF received the MLK, Jr. Social Justice Award, The King Center’s highest recognition for an organization leading work in the social justice arena. To learn more about AHF, visit us online at AIDShealth.org, find us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

AHF Global Public Health Institute is an initiative of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation created to engage in global public health policy analysis and research to generate objective evidence that can inform improvements in public health policy at the global, regional, national, and local levels, particularly for infectious diseases.

Club de Madrid is the world's largest forum of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers, utilizing their collective leadership experience to promote inclusive democracy and global well-being. As a non-partisan non-profit with over 130 members from more than 70 countries, the organization collaborates with a global network to foster dialogue, drive advocacy, and provide policy recommendations addressing critical issues like inclusion, sustainable development, and peace.