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World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during a press conference at WHO headquarters in Geneva on December 15, 2023.
photo: AFP/WHO/Christopher Black
The World Health Organization said on Saturday that negotiations aimed at reaching a global agreement on how to better fight epidemics will be completed by 2025 or as early as possible.
The WHO’s 194 member states have been negotiating for two years on a deal to boost cooperation during the coronavirus pandemic after the organization acknowledged failures in its fight against the pandemic.
The UN agency had initially aimed to reach a deal this week, but talks were prolonged amid deep divisions between rich and poor countries over issues such as vaccine sharing and preparedness.
However, countries did reach a parallel agreement to update existing legally binding health rules, the International Health Regulations (IHR), to include a new category of “pandemic emergencies” for the most severe and globally threatening health crises.
“Today’s historic decision demonstrates the shared desire of member states to protect their own people and the world’s people from public health emergencies and the shared risks of future pandemics,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
“Through this agreement, we are taking steps to hold countries accountable and strengthening measures to stop outbreaks before they threaten the safety of Americans and us,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said Saturday.
The changes in global health rules are aimed at bolstering the world’s defences against new pathogens after the coronavirus pandemic killed more than 7 million people, according to the World Health Organization.
– Reuters
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