WHO Adopts a Historic Agreement for Future Pandemics

In a moment hailed as historic for global public health, the Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) have adopted by consensus the first Global Pandemic Agreement. The decision, made during the 78th World Health Assembly, culminates more than three years of intense negotiations driven by the profound lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new agreement aims primarily to address the inequalities and deficiencies observed in the global response to the latest health crisis, strengthening international cooperation to ensure a more equitable, rapid, and effective preparedness for future pandemics.

“The world is safer today thanks to the leadership, collaboration, and commitment of our Member States in adopting the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement,” stated Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO. “This is a triumph for public health, science, and multilateral action. Thanks to this agreement, we will be better able to protect the world against future pandemic threats.”

The formal adoption took place in the plenary session of the Assembly after being approved by one of its committees, with 124 votes in favor, no objections, and 11 abstentions, reflecting a high degree of consensus among countries. Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, Secretary of the Department of Health of the Philippines and President of this year’s Assembly, highlighted the significance of the commitment reached:

“At the height of the pandemic, governments around the world acted decisively and urgently to negotiate this agreement. Now, with the text adopted, we must maintain the same determination to implement it, ensuring equitable access to life-saving health products and strengthening our response systems.”

What Does the Agreement Include?

The WHO Pandemic Agreement establishes key principles, approaches, and instruments to improve global health governance. Among the central elements are:

• The international coordination in the prevention, preparedness, and response to pandemics.

• The equitable and timely access to vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.

• The creation of mechanisms for the exchange of information, pathogens, and benefits derived from pandemic-related products.

• The improvement of surveillance systems, early warning, and response capacity in all countries.

A particularly relevant point of the text is its emphasis on national sovereignty. The agreement expressly clarifies that it does not grant the WHO authority to impose or dictate national policies, including decisions on lockdowns, vaccination mandates, or travel restrictions.

“Nothing in the Agreement shall be interpreted as a cession of sovereignty to the WHO or its Director-General,” the text states, emphasizing that each State retains control over its internal health decisions.

A key step towards global equity

One of the next steps will be the negotiation of an international system for pathogen access and benefit-sharing, aimed at ensuring that all countries —especially low- and middle-income ones— can fairly access essential products in a health emergency.

With this agreement, the international community takes an unprecedented step towards a more robust structure of global health governance, promoting an approach based on solidarity, equity, and evidence-based preparedness.

This commitment represents a clear response to the calls from multiple sectors that, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, demanded a profound change in how the world prepares for and responds to global health threats.

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