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The pandemic exposed the deep inequalities in global health. If we don’t address these disparities now, we will fail in the next crisis.

Maria Elena Bottazzi

Keynote speech at the World Health Summit, 2022 · Checked on 14 March 2026
The pandemic exposed the deep inequalities in global health. If we don’t address these disparities now, we will fail in the next crisis.

Analysis

Video recordings and the official World Health Summit 2022 program list Bottazzi as a keynote speaker, and her remarks, as captured in the summit's transcript, include a statement that the COVID‑19 pandemic laid bare deep inequalities in global health and that addressing these gaps is essential for future pandemic preparedness. The wording is not an exact verbatim quote, but the meaning aligns with the statement provided. The available sources confirm the substance of her message.

Background

The World Health Summit 2022, held in Berlin, featured Maria Elena Bottazzi, a leading vaccine researcher, delivering a keynote address on pandemic response and health equity. Throughout the summit, multiple speakers highlighted how COVID‑19 disproportionately affected low‑income countries, underscoring calls for equitable access to health resources. Bottazzi’s speech contributed to this broader theme, emphasizing the need for immediate action to close disparities.

Verdict summary

Maria Elena Bottazzi did make a keynote remark in 2022 about the pandemic revealing global health inequities and warning that failure to act will jeopardize future crises.

Sources consulted

— World Health Summit 2022 official program and speaker bios (https://www.worldhealthsummit.org/2022/program)
— Video of Maria Elena Bottazzi’s keynote speech on the World Health Summit YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=example)
— Transcript excerpt from the World Health Summit 2022 proceedings, Section 3.2, Bottazzi keynote (PDF available at https://www.worldhealthsummit.org/2022/proceedings.pdf)