WHO Director-General's remarks at the opening ceremony of the World Forum on the future of Democracy, AI/Tech and Humankind – 16 February 2026

Secretary Clinton,

Dear colleagues and friends,

Good morning, it's an honour to be here, and I thank Cinema for Peace for the invitation, and the opportunity.

As you know, the Munich Security Conference finished yesterday.

I was at the conference last year, where I was speaking to a foreign minister about the large increases in defence spending that had been announced by some countries.

He said, "We have to prepare for the worst."

I said, "I understand, but what about preparing for an attack from an invisible enemy?"

He said, "What do you mean? What invisible enemy?"

"A pandemic," I said. "The COVID-19 pandemic killed an estimated 20 million people and wiped more than US$ 10 trillion from the global economy - more than any war in recent memory."

The foreign minister said, "You're right, we need a balance," agreeing with my opinion.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a global health security crisis.

But when the crisis passed, the world forgot and moved on to the next crisis - Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan - there is always another crisis demanding the world's attention and resources.

It's what we call the cycle of panic and neglect.

But in fact, global health security is national security.

To put it another way, there is no health without peace, and no peace without health.

Both health and peace have been part of the DNA of the World Health Organization since it was founded in 1948.

The WHO Constitution was the first instrument of international law to affirm that health is a human right.

But it went further, saying that the health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security.

Almost 78 years later, those same convictions remain as relevant as they were then.

Health and peace are two sides of the same coin. But so are war and disease.

It's no coincidence that the 1918 influenza pandemic erupted during the First World War.

It's no coincidence that polio reemerged in Gaza last year, 25 years after the last case.

It's no coincidence that there are outbreaks of measles, dengue, malaria, diphtheria and cholera in Sudan;

It's no coincidence that the final frontier for eradicating polio is in the most insecure regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In all of those places, WHO is doing what we can to alleviate suffering and protect health.

But what these communities need more than the aid we deliver is peace.

So my message to you today is this:

First, continue to invest in health security.

And second, the best medicine is peace.

I thank you.