The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, on Monday called on member states to adopt the long-awaited Pandemic Agreement during this week’s World Health Assembly in Geneva.
“This is truly a historic moment,” Tedros declared in his opening speech at the annual gathering, which serves as the decision-making body of the UN health agency. “At this assembly, member states will consider, and hopefully adopt, the WHO Pandemic Agreement.”
After more than three years of intense negotiations, the final text of the agreement was reached by consensus last month. However, the process saw some turbulence, notably with the United States withdrawing from the talks under former President Donald Trump’s directive to initiate the country’s exit from the WHO.
“Even in the middle of crisis, and in the face of significant opposition, you worked tirelessly, you never gave up, and you reached your goal,” Tedros praised the delegates. He described the final breakthrough as bringing a mix of “joy, triumph, relief, \[and] exhaustion.”
The agreement is expected to be formally adopted by the assembly on Tuesday. It aims to improve global pandemic preparedness and response by strengthening international coordination, surveillance, and ensuring fair access to vaccines and treatments.
Tensions during the negotiations largely stemmed from disagreements between wealthier nations and developing countries—many of which were left behind during the global vaccine rollout in the Covid-19 pandemic. Some critics also opposed the treaty, citing concerns about national sovereignty.
Countries now have until May 2026 to finalize the details of a key element of the agreement: the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) mechanism. This component governs the sharing of high-risk pathogens and the equitable distribution of resulting benefits such as vaccines, tests, and treatments.
Once the PABS mechanism is agreed upon, the treaty will be open for ratification. It will require at least 60 countries to ratify it before it can officially take effect.
