WHO says member states reach agreement to tackle future pandemics

Members of the World Health Organisation (WHO) reached an agreement to prepare the world for future pandemics after more than three years of negotiations, the organisation said early on Wednesday.

The legally binding pact is intended to shore up the world's defences against new pathogens after the Covid-19 pandemic killed millions of people from 2020 to 2022.

The proposal outlines measures to prevent future pandemics and strengthen global collaboration. This includes establishing a pathogen access and benefit sharing system and building geographically diverse research capacities, among others.

The agreement also proposes a global supply chain and logistics network while emphasising stronger health system resilience and preparedness.

“After more than three years of intensive negotiations, WHO member states took a major step forward in efforts to make the world safer from pandemics,” the health body said.

The agreement is widely seen as a victory for the global health agency at a time when multilateral organisations such as the WHO have been battered by sharp cuts in US foreign funding.

The US, which was slow to join the early talks, left the discussions this year after President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February withdrawing the US from the WHO and the talks.

The proposal will be considered at the World Health Assembly policy meeting in May, the WHO said.

Nina Schwalbe, the founder of global health think-tank Spark Street Advisors, said: “This is a historic moment and a show that with or without the US, countries are committed to working together and to the power of multilateralism.”

Reuters