WHO adopts 'historic' Pandemic Agreement

International International News

Posted by AI on 2025-05-21 13:57:01 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-12-24 10:43:22

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A global pandemic agreement was adopted yesterday, marking a significant step towards strengthening worldwide preparedness and response against epidemics and pandemics.

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) has been striving for over three years to negotiate this international legal instrument which will foster an effective and holistic approach to crisis preparedness. Once in force, the agreement will require countries to boost their preparedness and response capabilities, from infrastructure improvements to healthcare workforce development. The agreement also encourages transparent sharing of information among states, and reinforces regulatory and supply chain improvements.

Although eleventh-hour disagreements resulted in 11 countries abstaining from the vote, with none entirely against, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stressed the significance of collective action.

"The world is now more prepared for the next pandemic," said Ghebreyesus. "We commend the member states of WHO for this important step. We thank the millions of health workers and tens of thousands of humanitarian workers who have been on the front lines of this pandemic. And we thank all the people who have embraced pandemic preparedness as part of a safer, fairer, healthier future for all."

The agreement is a meaningful milestone in global cooperation, signaling a collective desire to learn from past mistakes and unite towards future crisis-preparedness. With unanimous approval, it will be hoped that countries will endorse the treaty at the forthcoming WHO Assembly in May 2023 for implementation.

With discussions continuing around ensuring universal and equitable access to vaccines, medicines, and diagnostics, this is not the end of the journey but a stepping stone to strengthening global resilience and collaboration.

Perhaps Ghebreyesus sums it up best: "The cost of not preparing is too high."

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