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WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the commitment shown by the Organization’s Member States which, during nearly two weeks of meetings, adopted historic measures to make the world safer and healthier.
The landmark adoptions of the first global agreement to make the world safer from future pandemics and increase in financial support to the World Health Organization were the highlights of the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly, which ran from 19–27 May. Immediately after, the WHO Executive Board met for two days, until 29 May, to address the Health Assembly’s outcome, WHO governance reform and the nomination and appointment of regional directors.
Dr Tedros said Member States demonstrated their commitment to WHO and multilateral action to protect and promote public health. “WHO and many of our Member States and health partners are facing various challenges,” he said. “But the World Health Assembly has sent a clear message: countries want a strong WHO and are committed to working together with WHO to build a healthier, safer and fairer world. These were strong votes of confidence in WHO at this critical time.”
“The Health Assembly’s adoption of the Pandemic Agreement on 20 May was a landmark in the history of WHO and global health,” said Dr Tedros. “Despite many obstacles, and in the face of significant mis- and disinformation, WHO’s Member States have succeeded in negotiating and adopting a legally binding agreement to make the world safer from pandemics.”
The Pandemic Agreement sets out a range of measures to prevent pandemics and strengthen health system resilience, including through improving the rapid sharing of pathogens; ensuring fair, equitable and timely access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics; and strengthening technology transfer, financing and supply chains.
Dr Tedros said adoption of the Pandemic Agreement was not the end of the journey, adding that Member States still must negotiate the annex on pathogen access and benefit sharing for adoption at an upcoming Health Assembly. The next step would be for 60 countries to ratify the agreement, including the annex, before it enters into force as an instrument of international law.
“But having watched this process over the past three and a half years, I am confident of two things,” the WHO Director-General said. “First, that Member States will finish the job by May next year (2026), as they have committed to doing; and second, that the deception and distortion will continue.”
In particular, Dr Tedros said while it has been widely acknowledged that the Pandemic Agreement will not infringe on national sovereignty, some quarters will continue to repeat the false claims.
“Let me be clear once again: the Pandemic Agreement will not infringe on national sovereignty, period. And the Pandemic Agreement does not give WHO any powers, period,” Dr Tedros said. “WHO’s job is to make recommendations to governments, but what governments do with those recommendations is entirely up to them. WHO is not even a party to the Agreement. This is an agreement between sovereign nations, and it will be ratified and implemented by sovereign nations that choose to do so. The intentional distortion of the Pandemic Agreement as ceding power to WHO must stop.”
The Assembly’s other major outcome was the approval of WHO’s 2026–27 Programme Budget, including the next 20% increase in assessed contributions, adding US$ 90 million in fully predictable and flexible funds to WHO’s income each year. In 2022, Member States agreed to increase assessed contributions progressively to 50% of our base budget, from just 16% at the time. This rise is the cornerstone of WHO’s transformation of its approach to sustainable financing by diversifying its donor base and receiving increased support from all of its Member States towards WHO’s core budget and programme of work.
“This is another major step towards making WHO less dependent on earmarked voluntary funds from a handful of traditional donors,” said Dr Tedros. “WHO also held a pledging event at which Member States and philanthropic donors committed at least US$ 210 million in additional funding to the WHO Investment Round.”
In addition to these two major achievements, the Health Assembly also celebrated several countries for eliminating diseases, and eliminating industrial trans-fat from their manufactured food supplies.
WHO Member States also adopted several important resolutions, reflecting WHO’s vast mission and mandate, including a new target to halve the health impacts of air pollution by 2040; new targets for nutrition in mothers and young children; to strengthen regulation of digital marketing of formula milk and baby foods; and a new global strategy for traditional medicine.
Countries for the first time also adopted resolutions on lung health and kidney health, and for a lead-free future, and established World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day and World Prematurity Day as official WHO health campaigns. Resolutions on digital health, Guinea worm disease, health financing, the health and care workforce, medical imaging, nursing and midwifery, rare diseases, sensory impairment, skin diseases, social connection and more were also adopted.
Today, the World Health Organization (WHO) published its first-ever position paper on immunization products to protect infants against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – the leading cause of acute lower respiratory infections in children globally.
Every year, RSV causes about 100 000 deaths and over 3.6 million hospitalizations in children under the age of 5 years worldwide. About half of these deaths occur in infants younger than 6 months of age. The vast majority (97%) of RSV deaths in infants occur in low- and middle-income countries where there is limited access to supportive medical care, such as oxygen or hydration.
Published in the Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER), the position paper outlines WHO recommendations for two immunization products: a maternal vaccine that can be given to pregnant women in their third trimester to protect their infant and a long-acting monoclonal antibody that can be administered to infants from birth, just before or during the RSV season.
“RSV is an incredibly infectious virus that infects people of all ages, but is especially harmful to infants, particularly those born premature, when they are most vulnerable to severe disease,” says Dr Kate O’Brien, Director of Immunization, Vaccines, and Biologicals at WHO. “The WHO-recommended RSV immunization products can transform the fight against severe RSV disease, dramatically reduce hospitalizations, and deaths, ultimately saving many infant lives globally.”
RSV usually causes mild symptoms similar to the common cold, including runny nose, cough and fever. However, it can lead to serious complications – including pneumonia and bronchiolitis – in infants, young children, older adults and those with compromised immune systems or underlying health conditions.
In response to the global burden of severe RSV disease among infants, WHO recommends that all countries introduce either the maternal vaccine, RSVpreF, or the monoclonal antibody, nirsevimab depending on the feasibility of implementation within each country’s existing health system, cost-effectiveness and anticipated coverage. Both products were recommended by the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) for global implementation in September 2024. In addition, the maternal vaccine received WHO prequalification in March 2025, allowing it to be purchased by UN agencies.
WHO recommends that the maternal vaccine be given to pregnant women during the third trimester of pregnancy, from week 28 onwards, to optimize for the adequate transfer of antibodies to their baby. The vaccine may be given during routine antenatal care, including at one of the 5 WHO-recommended antenatal care visits in the third trimester or any additional medical consultations.
The second WHO-recommended immunization product, nirsevimab, is given as a single injection of monoclonal antibodies that starts protecting babies against RSV within a week of administration and lasts for at least 5 months, which can cover the entire RSV season in countries with RSV seasonality.
WHO recommends that infants receive a single dose of nirsevimab right after birth or before being discharged from a birthing facility. If not administered at birth, the monoclonal antibody can be given during the baby's first health visit. If a country decides to administer the product only during the RSV season rather than year-round, a single dose can also be given to older infants just before entering their first RSV season.
The greatest impact on severe RSV disease will be achieved by administering the monoclonal antibody to infants under 6 months of age. However, there is still a potential benefit among infants up to 12 months of age.
WHO regularly issues updated position papers on vaccines, combinations of vaccines and other immunization products against diseases that have major public health impact. These papers focus primarily on the use of vaccines in large-scale vaccination programmes. The new position paper aims to inform national public health policymakers and immunization programme managers on the use of RSV immunization products in their national programmes, as well as national and international funding agencies.
On World No Tobacco Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) today launches a new publication and calls on governments to urgently ban all flavours in tobacco and nicotine products, including cigarettes, pouches, hookahs and e-cigarettes, to protect youth from addiction and disease.
Flavours like menthol, bubble gum and cotton candy are masking the harshness of tobacco and nicotine products turning toxic products into youth-friendly bait. Flavours not only make it harder to quit but have also been linked to serious lung diseases. Cigarettes, which still kill up to half of their users, also come in flavours or can have flavours added to them.
“Flavours are fuelling a new wave of addiction, and should be banned,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO. “They undermine decades of progress in tobacco control. Without bold action, the global tobacco epidemic, already killing around 8 million people each year, will continue to be driven by addiction dressed up with appealing flavours.”
The publication, Flavour accessories in tobacco products enhance attractiveness and appeal, reveals how flavours and accessories like capsule filters and click-on drops are marketed to bypass regulations and hook new users.
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Countries such as Belgium, Denmark, and Lithuania are taking action, and WHO urges others to follow.
Flavours are a leading reason why young people try tobacco and nicotine products. Paired with flashy packaging and social media-driven marketing, they’ve increased the appeal of nicotine pouches, heated tobacco, and disposable vapes into addictive and harmful products, which aggressively target young people.
“We are watching a generation get hooked on nicotine through gummy bear-flavoured pouches and rainbow-coloured vapes,” said Dr Rüdiger Krech, WHO Director of Health Promotion. “This isn’t innovation, it’s manipulation. And we must stop it.”
WHO reiterates that tobacco products, including heated tobacco products, expose users to cancer-causing chemicals and should be strictly regulated.
The 2025 World No Tobacco Day campaign honours governments, youth activists and civil society leaders pushing back against industry interference. “Your actions are changing policy and saving lives,” said Dr Krech.
With around 8 million tobacco-related deaths each year, the time for action is now. Flavours, and the industries that deploy them, have no place in a healthy future.
The role of flavours in increasing the appeal of tobacco, nicotine and related products
Flavour accessories in tobacco products enhance attractiveness and appeal
The World Health Organization (WHO), Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom announced today the expansion of the successful Health Security Partnership to Strengthen Disease Surveillance in Africa (HSPA) to seven countries on the continent.
Africa experiences more disease outbreaks than any other part of the world. While significant progress has been made in strengthening disease surveillance over the past decade, no country can tackle today’s complex health threats alone.
The Health Security Partnership strengthens disease surveillance and epidemic intelligence across the African continent, enabling countries to better detect and respond to public health threats - whether they are natural, accidental or deliberate. Launched in 2023 in six countries, The Gambia, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, South Africa and Tunisia, the partnership will expand to Rwanda in its second phase which runs from 2025 to 2028.
At the heart of the initiative is a collaborative surveillance approach that connects health and security sectors to reduce biological risks and strengthen surveillance systems nationally and internationally. HSPA is aligned with the health security objectives of the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction and the Signature Initiative to Mitigate Biological Threats in Africa (SIMBA).
“HSPA represents an important step forward in building stronger partnerships for health security in Africa. By bringing together global, regional and national actors, this initiative supports countries in strengthening Collaborative Surveillance through mutual exchange and practical action. WHO remains committed to working alongside Member States to ensure that these collective efforts are well-coordinated, responsive, and rooted in national priorities,” said Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, Acting WHO Regional Director for Africa; Deputy Executive Director, WHO Health Emergencies Programme.
The partnership is supporting countries to strengthen capacities in biorisk management, event and indicator-based surveillance, genomic surveillance and epidemic intelligence. This is achieved through training, guidance development, co-creation of implementation roadmaps, and hands-on technical assistance to ensure that implementation is aligned with country priorities, embedded within broader national systems, and built for long-term sustainability.
“Within the framework of this project, Africa CDC will work with the Member States in mobilizing political will for biosecurity and surveillance, establishing regional frameworks for bio-surveillance of high-consequence biological agents and toxins, and coordinating event-based surveillance. The collaboration with other partners and coordination with Member States is crucial especially in the current context of limited resources to strengthen the continent's capacity for early detection, response, and management of biological threats,” said Dr Raji Tajudeen, Acting Deputy Director General and Head, Division of Public Health Institutes and Research, Africa CDC.
The HSPA initiative has been supported from the start by the Government of Canada’s Weapons Threat Reduction Program, with additional funding in phase two from the Government of the United Kingdom.
Building on the achievements in phase one, the participating countries, with support from WHO and partners, will accelerate implementation to build a healthier, safer and more resilient Africa.
On 29 May 2025, a correction was made to this news release, both in the headline and the main text, to reflect the joint announcement of the HSPA expansion with the governments of Canada and the United Kingdom, and to acknowledge HSPA’s alignment with the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction and the Signature Initiative to Mitigate Biological Threats in Africa (SIMBA).
The Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly (WHA78), the annual meeting of World Health Organization’s (WHO) Member States, came to a close Tuesday, as health leaders lauded vast accomplishments and global solidarity.
The Assembly, WHO’s highest decision-making body, convened from 19 May to 27 May, under the theme “One World for Health”. Member States considered approximately 75 items and sub-items across all areas of health, engaging in lively debate and adopting consequential resolutions to improve health for all.
“The words ‘historic’ and ‘landmark’ are overused, but they are perfectly apt to describe this year’s World Health Assembly,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “The adoption of the Pandemic Agreement and the approval of the next increase in assessed contributions, along with the numerous other resolutions that Member States adopted are a sign to the world that we can achieve cooperation in the face of conflict, and unity amid division.”
On 20 May, Member States adopted the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement. The moment was met with heartfelt applause, celebrating over three years of intense negotiations by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, comprising WHO’s Member States.
The adoption of the Agreement is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to safeguard the world from a repeat of the suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Agreement aims to enhance global coordination and cooperation, equity and access for future pandemics, all while respecting national sovereignty.
Over the next year, Member States will build on the Resolution, by holding consultations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS), an annex to the Agreement which would enhance equitable access to medical advancements.
In a changing financial landscape, Member States united to protect WHO’s critical work by approving the second 20% increase in assessed contributions (ACs). By 2030–2031, ACs will make up 50% of WHO’s core budget, providing more predictable, resilient, and flexible funding.
The Assembly’s commitment to sustainable financing did not stop there; at a high-level pledging event during WHA78, health leaders pledged at least US$ 210 million for WHO’s Investment Round, the fundraising campaign for the Organization’s global health strategy for the next four years (the Fourteenth General Programme of Work). In addition to the US$ 1.7 billion already raised for the Investment Round, these pledges mark a significant step toward sustainable financing of WHO. Since launching in May 2024, the Investment Round has attracted 35 new contributors – moving WHO closer to the broader donor base envisioned in the Director-General’s ongoing transformation agenda.
WHA 78 was steadfast in addressing ongoing health issues and adaptable in targeting threats and conflicts. The accomplishments of the Assembly spanned many areas of health as Member States
The Assembly adopted other resolutions on digital health, the health and care workforce, medical imaging, nursing and midwifery, sensory impairment, and skin diseases, among others. Two new official WHO health campaigns were established: World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day and World Prematurity Day.
The World Health Assembly also discussed WHO’s work in health emergencies. Over the last year, WHO responded internationally to 51 graded emergencies across 89 countries and territories, including global outbreaks of cholera and mpox – a public health emergency of international concern – as well as multiple humanitarian crises. Working with over 900 partners across 28 health clusters, WHO helped provide health assistance for 72 million people in humanitarian settings. Nearly 60% of new emergencies were climate-related, highlighting the growing health impacts of climate change.
During the Assembly, Member States
Note to editors
On 28 May 2025 a small change was made on the final bullet point of this news release, from "approved a decision to strengthen" to "approved a resolution to strengthen".
The Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly approved a decision to update the Global action plan (GAP) on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), for discussion at next year’s World Health Assembly (WHA79) in 2026.
An estimated 4.71 million deaths were associated with bacterial AMR as of 2021, according to the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD). The GAP update will offer a practical framework for the next 10 years to achieve the targets and commitments included in the political declaration of the United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR in 2024 – including a 10% reduction in global deaths associated with bacterial AMR by 2030.
Since the global action plan was adopted in 2015, over 170 countries have developed multi-sectoral national action plans to address AMR. The updated plan will ensure the latest guidance is available to help countries accelerate implementation. It will reflect a multisectoral One Health approach, which aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems.
WHO and the other Quadripartite organizations – the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) – will develop this update in consultation with Member States and relevant stakeholders.
The Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly also considered progress made in supporting countries to prevent infections; ensure universal access to quality and affordable diagnosis and appropriate treatment; strengthen surveillance, research and innovation; and enhance AMR awareness, governance and financing.
Looking ahead, other WHO priorities include supporting countries to achieve efficiencies by integrating AMR interventions in health sector planning and financing, and enhancing coordination and governance of the AMR response at all levels, including with the Quadripartite.
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At the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in 2025, Member States expressed support for the first-ever draft Global action plan on climate change and health, marking an important step forward in global health and climate policy. The draft Global action plan 2025–2028 (EB156(40)) acknowledged the urgent need to address the health impacts of climate change, positioning health systems as part of the climate solution.
It aims to provide a strategic framework to guide Member States, the WHO Secretariat and other stakeholders in developing climate-resilient, low-carbon health systems; enhancing surveillance and early warning systems; protecting vulnerable populations; and integrating health into climate policy and financing mechanisms.
Building on commitments made at previous Conference of the Parties (COPs) and the outcomes of the Executive Board meeting in February 2025, this plan supports WHO’s work to promote health leadership in the global climate agenda and coordinate country-level action and implementation. By supporting this Global action plan, the Assembly affirmed that climate action is not only an environmental priority but also a strategic health priority.
While recognizing this important progress, some Member States noted that more time and dialogue are needed to reach consensus on certain principles and language used in the action plan moving forward.
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Member States at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly strongly approved an updated road map for an enhanced global response to the adverse health effects of air pollution, reaffirming their commitment to protect populations from the world’s largest environmental health risk. The decision updates the 2016 strategy endorsed under WHA69/18 and builds on the landmark resolution WHA68.8 adopted in 2015.
Today, 99% of the world’s population breathes air that does not meet WHO air quality guidelines. The health burden from air pollution falls disproportionately on vulnerable and marginalized populations, particularly in low-resource settings where fragile health systems face compound challenges.
Air pollution is responsible for approximately 7 million deaths annually, primarily from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as stroke, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer as well as pneumonia. It is now recognized as the fifth major risk factor for NCDs alongside tobacco use, unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and harmful use of alcohol.
The updated road map sets the first voluntary target to halve the health impacts of air pollution by 2040 through improved surveillance, knowledge synthesis, institutional capacity building, and global leadership. It provides practical guidance for health authorities to advocate for clean air, inform policy, and protect communities – especially those most at risk.
With this new Resolution, WHO and its Member States commit to scaling up action to monitor, prevent, and mitigate the health impacts of air pollution. The decision represents a critical step toward cleaner air, healthier lives, and accelerated progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
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In a new resolution, Member States agreed to expand the provisions of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (the Code) to tackle the digital marketing of formula milk and baby foods.
The Code is a landmark public health agreement passed by the World Health Assembly in 1981, which aims to protect caregivers from aggressive marketing practices by the baby food industry. This advertising often makes misleading claims about the benefits of formula milk products, promotes unhealthy baby foods to parents, and reinforces negative myths about breastfeeding.
Over recent years, new tactics for digital marketing have proliferated, for instance through influencer endorsements, virtual “support groups”, and personal targeting of pregnant women and new parents across their social media feeds. Many of these promotions are funded by baby food companies but their sponsorship is undisclosed. Advertisements are widely circulated across national borders – creating new challenges for regulation.
In line with recent guidance from WHO, the 2025 Resolution calls for robust efforts to develop, strengthen and coordinate the regulation of digital marketing to protect children’s health. It calls on countries to build effective systems for monitoring and enforcement.
Despite the existence of the Code, a major study from WHO and UNICEF found that over half of new parents had been exposed to promotions from formula milk companies. In some countries, this was over 90%. The new Resolution covers the marketing of formula milks, teats and bottles, as well as foods for infants and young children.
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Member States reaffirmed their commitment to protect and invest in the global health and care workforce, identifying specific actions to address national shortages, conditions of work and the increasing rates of health worker migration.
The Assembly reviewed the Global Strategy on Human Resources for Health: Workforce 2030, which highlights a slowdown in progress and an increase in the projected global shortfall in health workers to 11.1 million by 2030 – up from the 2022 estimate of 10.2 million.
Countries adopted a resolution – sponsored by Germany, Morocco, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Thailand – calling for accelerated investment in health professionals’ education, job creation, and retention; improved working conditions; and a harnessing of the potential of digital technologies and AI in support of health workers.
The Assembly also considered new data and recommendations on the international migration of health workers and how to strengthen ethical recruitment in alignment with the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. A record 105 countries reported on international migration.
The Assembly noted the findings of the Code’s third review and endorsed a decision to hold regional consultations on the draft findings of the Expert Advisory Group in 2025, including on its emphasis on mutual benefits, co-investment and sustainable solutions, alongside better regulation of private recruitment and inclusion of care workers.
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With broad support, countries approved a resolution galvanizing global support for a lead-free future. The Resolution affirms the global health sector’s commitment to tackle exposure to lead, one of WHO’s top 10 chemicals of major public health concern.
Member states also acknowledged that exposure to hazardous chemicals and pollution contributes to over 9 million premature deaths annually – one in six globally – with a disproportionate impact on populations in vulnerable situations, especially children, pregnant women, and communities in low- and middle-income countries.
Member States are urged to reduce exposures to hazardous chemicals, such as lead, mercury, persistent organic pollutants and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, by integrating health into environmental policies and regulations and improving waste management systems, including for growing challenges related to plastics and e-waste pollution.
Countries committed to implementing WHO’s chemicals roadmap, and enhancing national capacities and global cooperation through multilateral agreements such as the Global Framework on Chemicals, the Minamata Convention on Mercury, and the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions.
WHO will consult with countries and translate Resolution EB156(32) into a Global action plan on lead mitigation and continue providing technical assistance and guidance in strengthening health sector leadership, to protect communities from preventable health risks due to hazardous chemicals, waste and pollution.
By adopting EB156(32) and acknowledging exposure to lead and other chemicals, waste and pollution as threats to health, Member States have taken a decisive action toward addressing environmental determinants and the root causes of ill health, advancing health equity, and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
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Members of the World Health Assembly agreed on the new WHO global traditional medicine strategy to take forward development of evidence-based practice of Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) into the next decade. In arriving at this Strategy, Member States debated crucial components for inclusion, such as establishing a robust evidence base for traditional medicine practices, developing mechanisms for regulation and safety, creating integrated health-care service delivery models where appropriate, and ensuring qualified practitioners.
With this Strategy, the Member States explicitly recognized not only the role of traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples but also the upholding their rights, while promoting environmental sustainability and biodiversity conservation in the context of TCIM.
Under the 2025-2034 strategy, WHO will assist Member States in strengthening the evidence base for TCIM, bolstering safety, quality and effectiveness, and, where appropriate, facilitating its integration into health systems while optimizing cross-sector collaboration.
Implementation and monitoring of the Strategy are key elements. WHO will support Member States in implementing and adapting the Strategy, providing guidance and technical assistance as needed.
This new Strategy aims to unlock the full potential of TCIM to improve global health and well-being in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals and universal health coverage (UHC).
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Endorsing the urgent need for action on preterm births, Member States agreed to announce World Prematurity Day as an official WHO health campaign. The campaign will complement efforts to improve prevention of preterm births and ensure lifesaving health care for babies born early or small.
Preterm births are defined as births that occur before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. Related complications, which include difficulties breathing as well as infections and hypothermia, are the leading cause of death amongst children aged under 5 years. Those who survive can face significant and long-term disability and ill health.
The Resolution also calls on countries to invest in proven high-impact interventions – like special newborn care units, kangaroo mother care and family support -- that improve outcomes for babies born early or small.
The campaign was approved as part of discussions on the Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health (2016-2030), and is aligned with last year’s Resolution to accelerate progress in improving maternal, newborn, and child survival.
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Countries agreed on a resolution entitled "Effects of Nuclear War on Public Health". The Resolution was proposed by Burkina Faso, Ecuador, Fiji, Guatemala, Iraq, Kazakhstan, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia (Federated States of), New Zealand, Peru, Samoa, and Vanuatu. It underscores the serious health risks posed by nuclear weapons and reaffirms WHO’s constitutional principle that health is fundamental to peace and security.
Recalling past WHO and UN resolutions and reports, the Resolution highlights the long-standing recognition of the devastating health and environmental consequences of nuclear war. Nuclear war would have catastrophic consequences for human health – both immediate and long-term. At the UN Summit of the Future in September 2024, Member States raised an alarm on the rising threat of nuclear conflict, calling it an existential risk to humanity, and reaffirmed their commitment to total nuclear disarmament.
The new Resolution requests the WHO Director-General to update earlier reports on nuclear war’s impacts on health and health systems, cooperate with relevant stakeholders and UN bodies, and report back to the World Health Assembly by 2029. It also encourages Member States to support this work, in line with their national contexts and legal frameworks, recognizing that preventing nuclear war is essential for global health, security, and the survival of humanity.
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Countries approved a decision to provide additional time to finalize the report of the fourteenth meeting of the Member State mechanism (MsM) regarding global health threats posed by substandard and falsified (SF) medical products. The final report will now be submitted to the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly in 2026, via the 158th session of the Executive Board.
This decision follows a request by the Steering Committee of the MsM for more time to consider specific recommendations from the 2023 independent evaluation, particularly those concerning potential revisions to the mechanism’s format. WHO is actively supporting this process by providing both legal and operational guidance.
With an estimated 1 in 10 medicines in low- and middle-income countries being substandard or falsified, and economic losses ranging from US$ 75 to 200 billion annually, the stakes are high. SF incidents nearly tripled between 2019 and 2023, exacerbated by online distribution, weak regulatory oversight and surveillance, and humanitarian crises.
Established through Resolution WHA65.19 in 2012, the MsM has served as a cornerstone of WHO’s global strategy, enabling countries to collaborate in preventing, detecting, and responding to SF medical products. The 2023 evaluation reaffirmed the mechanism’s relevance and underscored its unique role in global coordination. However, it also called for improvements, including regional engagement, broader stakeholder collaboration, and enhanced operational agility.
WHO reiterated its full commitment to reinforcing the mechanism as a cornerstone of global health security, calling on continued engagement from governments, pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors, donors and civil society.
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Delegates decided that “the flags of non-Member Observer States at the United Nations shall be raised at the World Health Organization... and does not constitute Member State status in the World Health Organization.” The discussion focused specifically on having the Palestinian flag raised at WHO, as a non-Member Observer State, and cited UN resolution 20.15 as a basis for the flag to be raised there.
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There was a request for the Executive Board, at its meeting in January 2026, to consider the withdrawal of Argentina and to submit a report thereon to the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) and the African Union (AU) Commission renewed their longstanding strategic partnership today with the signing of an updated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva. This renewed agreement reaffirms the joint commitment to advancing health security, universal health coverage, and sustainable development across the African continent at a time of unprecedented financial challenges in the global health landscape.
It further underscores the African Union’s leadership in fostering collective action, inclusive partnerships, and regional resilience, and positions the Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs, and Social Development of the AU Commission at the heart of the continent’s health policy implementation efforts.
The agreement was signed by Her Excellency Ambassador Amma Adomaa Twum-Amoah, Commissioner for Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, on behalf of His Excellency Mahmoud Ali Youssouf, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. It marks a defining moment for primary health care and universal health coverage.
Commissioner Twum-Amoah emphasized the strategic importance of the agreement and the AU’s leadership in shaping Africa’s health landscape:
“This Agreement marks a new chapter in AU–WHO cooperation. By working together more closely, we can better respond to the health needs of our populations and ensure that no one is left behind. The African Union values WHO’s central and leading role in global health and looks forward to deepening this strategic partnership in support of our shared goals. We need to move from budgeting for survival to planning for health sovereignty,” she added.
Building on the foundation of the 2019 MoU, the renewed agreement streamlines and strengthens collaboration across all AU entities. It aligns efforts in support of Africa’s health priorities and sets the stage for enhanced cooperation between WHO and the AU. It also reaffirms WHO’s central technical and normative leadership role in global and regional health, and its commitment to supporting the AU and its institutions in achieving health-related Sustainable Development Goals.
“This renewed agreement comes at a critical time, as cuts to bilateral aid imperil the health of millions in Africa,” said Dr Tedros. “It reflects our determination to translate our partnership into tangible results for the people of Africa, and support countries to leave behind the era of aid dependency and transition to sustainable self-reliance. We are proud to stand with the African Union in driving forward the health priorities of the continent.”
The Memorandum outlines five key areas of collaboration:
The timing of the renewed agreement is significant. It reflects the African Union’s elevated voice in global health governance – bolstered by its G20 membership – and highlights WHO’s ongoing key role as a trusted technical and operational partner.
The renewed MoU marks new momentum for regional and multilateral cooperation to address Africa’s most pressing health challenges and deliver meaningful, lasting results on the continent.
For further information:
Professor Julio Rakotonirina | Director | Department of Health, Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development | African Union Commission | E-mail JulioR@africa-union.org
Ms Stéphanie Seydoux | Director | DG Envoy for Multilateral Affairs| World Health Organization| E-mail seydouxs@who.int
Member States today adopted a landmark resolution declaring rare diseases a global health priority in an effort to ensure that no patients are left behind. The Resolution recognizes that over 300 million people globally live with one of more than 7000 rare diseases, most of which begin in childhood and can lead to significant physical, emotional, and financial hardship.
The Resolution urges countries to integrate rare diseases into national health planning, improve diagnosis and care through universal health coverage, promote inclusive policies, and accelerate innovation, research, and access to affordable treatment. Importantly, the Resolution mandates WHO to develop a comprehensive 10-year global action plan on rare diseases, with measurable targets to guide progress toward equity, inclusion, and access to care for all affected individuals.
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The Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly approved a new resolution on strengthening health financing globally, reaffirming their commitment to delivering universal health coverage (UHC) through advancing people-centred primary health care. This comes at crucial moment as external aid faces a potential 40% reduction in 2025, alongside increasing out-of-pocket spending on health and disruptions in health services in many countries. This shock has resulted in a global health financing emergency that is hitting already-stretched health systems in low- and middle-income economies.
The new Resolution outlines actions for Member States to bolster health financing by bringing more money for health in domestic budgets and improving public financial management systems to generate the greatest positive impact on population health.
The rapidly changing landscape also calls for a renewed role for WHO; one that will help shift both domestic and global health financing architectures towards country self-reliance and sustainable progress for UHC.
WHO will operationalize the priorities laid out in the Resolution by further strengthening its technical core functions on data analytics, policy and norms, and monitoring and accountability. WHO will also continue to work with countries to strengthen public financing as a cornerstone of resilient health systems that deliver quality, affordable and equitable health for all.
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In a major step to strengthen evidence-based health systems, Member States approved a resolution to enhance national capacities for developing and adapting public health guidance grounded in high-quality scientific evidence.
The decision responds to persistent gaps in countries’ ability to generate, use, and scale context-specific data and guidance — key barriers to improving equitable health outcomes. The Resolution urges governments to invest in systems that support national guideline development, including regulatory frameworks, digital tools, and local research.
It also calls on WHO to maintain the highest standards in its normative products and to support Member States in adapting and implementing these tools at country level. A global framework and action plan are to be developed to foster cross-border collaboration and build regional science capacity. This Resolution marks a renewed global commitment to ensuring that WHO’s guidance leads to real-world impact — in clinics, communities, and health systems worldwide.
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The world stands at a turning point in the fight against Guinea worm disease. Fourteen years after the last resolution, Member States have adopted a new one — reaffirming global commitment and signaling renewed momentum for eradication. With only 15 human cases reported in 2024 and transmission confined to five endemic countries, this is a pivotal moment to press forward.
This milestone builds on the momentum of the Abu Dhabi Declaration on the Eradication of Guinea Worm Disease (2022) and the N’Djamena Declaration on interrupting the transmission of dracunculiasis (2024). The new Resolution endorses WHO’s revised 2023 eradication strategy, which addresses the increasing threat of dracunculus medinensis infections in animals — particularly in domestic dogs — that risk undermining progress towards global transmission interruption.
WHO now recommends an integrated approach, combining human, animal and environmental health efforts, along with strong laboratory support for case confirmation, and timely data collection, analysis, and reporting.
The Resolution underscores the urgent need for sustained political will, financial commitment cross-border collaboration, capacity building and investment in safe water access — key to achieving the 2030 eradication target set in the road map for neglected tropical diseases.
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A resolution on “Skin diseases as a global public health priority” was adopted today at the World Health Assembly. The Resolution expresses the unanimous commitment by Member States to address the burden of all conditions primarily affecting the skin as well as those that are systemic but associated with skin manifestations.
The Resolution is driven by critical gaps that demand urgent action. Skin diseases are among the most visible health conditions, often leading to stigma, discrimination, and emotional distress. Yet when recognized and interpreted accurately, skin signs can enable early detection of a wide range of diseases.
Despite their significant burden, awareness of skin conditions remains low — both among health workers and the general public. Weak surveillance systems further mask their true public health impact. Notably, a small number of common skin conditions account for the vast majority of cases in any community.
With proper training, medicines, and support, local health teams can manage these conditions effectively — strengthening primary care and accelerating progress toward universal health coverage. To facilitate this task, WHO has developed and promoted integrated approaches that improve both service delivery and efficiency, such as the strategic framework for skin-related neglected tropical diseases.
The Resolution calls for a country-level coordinated action across all skin diseases — strengthened financing and human resources, surveillance, capacity-building, laboratory diagnostic capacities, access to essential medicines, integration with other programmes, innovative service delivery models, and research. The Resolution also calls for WHO’s leadership in facilitating transformative change and scaling up activities against skin diseases at global, regional, and country levels.
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Member States considered (during the fifth meeting of Committee B on Friday afternoon) the request from the Government of Indonesia for the reassignment of Indonesia from the South-East Asia Region to the Western Pacific Region. Committee B noted the report and approved the Resolution proposed, resolving that Indonesia shall form part of the WHO Western Pacific Region.
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New guideline calls for improved global access to controlled medicines
The World Health Organization (WHO) has released a rapid communication outlining its new guideline on balanced national policies for controlled medicines. The guideline was officially presented during a high-level side event at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly. It is designed to support countries in ensuring safe, equitable and affordable access to essential controlled medicines which are critical for treating acute and chronic pain, mental health conditions, substance use disorders and other serious health issues.
Controlled medicines, such as opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, amphetamines and dissociative anaesthetics like ketamine, are drugs that have authorized use for medical or scientific purposes. They should be used under careful regulation as they have properties that can increase health risks if used for non-medical purposes and they can be associated with drug use disorders and drug dependence, unless rational use is ensured. But they also have essential life-improving properties, reducing suffering and improving health and well-being when used appropriately for treating specific medical conditions.
However, the majority of the world’s population lives in countries with limited or no access to affordable, quality-assured controlled medicines, even when they are proven to be safe and effective for treatment. And there is a major access and equity gap; for example, in 2021, over 80% of the world’s morphine was distributed to high-income countries, which leaves out 5.5 million terminal cancer patients and millions of others suffering from acute illness and end-of-life suffering in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Studies show that 75% of people living with epilepsy in LMICs do not receive treatment.
The updated WHO guideline offers a clear roadmap for Member States to develop and implement balanced national policies that support the medical and scientific use of controlled medicines while protecting individuals and communities from the risks associated with non-medical use.
Key highlights include:
The rapid communication announced today will be followed by the full document of the “WHO guideline on balanced national controlled medicines policies to ensure medical access and safety” to be released online in June 2025.
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Member States approved a landmark resolution on lung health, recognizing the urgent need to tackle respiratory diseases and their major risk factors, including air pollution and tobacco use. The Resolution aims to strengthen national and global actions to prevent, diagnose, and manage common lung conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, pneumonia and tuberculosis.
The Resolution calls for improved access to affordable care, greater investment in clean air policies, and integrated strategies linking lung health with broader efforts on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and climate resilience. This milestone reaffirms global commitment to protecting respiratory health and preventing millions of avoidable premature deaths each year.
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The first-ever WHA resolution on kidney health, led by Guatemala and co-sponsored by multiple Member States, was approved today – recognizing kidney disease as a growing global public health issue.
It urges countries to integrate kidney care into national health strategies, expand prevention, early detection and treatment efforts, and strengthen primary health-care services. This Resolution represents a major step forward in reducing the global burden of kidney disease as part of the efforts to address NCDs and advancing universal health coverage (UHC).
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Today’s Resolution on primary prevention and integrated care for sensory impairments, including vision impairment and hearing loss, calls for improved services needed for at least 2.2 billion individuals affected by vision impairment, and 1.5 billion individuals by hearing loss.
The burden of unaddressed vision impairment and hearing loss remains disproportionately high in low- and middle-income countries, Small Island Developing States, and settings affected by different emergencies.
Recent technological advancements help improve the screening and detection of vision impairment and hearing loss, and the availability of cost-effective and good-quality interventions. These include cataract surgery and assistive technologies such as eyeglasses, hearing aids, implants, and rehabilitative services as well as sign language interpreters, and Braille literacy, which can reduce the barriers people with sensory impairments experience to actively participate in society.
The new resolution invites countries to adopt or adapt and implement the recommendations outlined in the World report on vision and World report on hearing. Doing so can help incorporate comprehensive eye, vision, ear and hearing care across the life course as a core element within national health plans and primary health-care initiatives towards universal health coverage.
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Today, the Assembly reaffirmed its commitment to cervical cancer elimination and established World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day, to be marked on November 17, annually.
Cervical cancer – the fourth most common cancer in women – could become the first cancer to be eliminated if sufficient global action and support is mobilized. The disease claims the lives of 350 000 women each year, and an additional 600 000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year.
In support of the Global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem, launched by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in 2020, World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day will promote actions to end the disease and protect the health of women and girls. Critical measures include vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the major cause of cervical cancer, alongside efforts to step up screening and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions and management of cancer cases.
In addition to strengthening global advocacy and accountability, the commemoration of the World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day will further support service delivery and encourage resource mobilization to expand health-care services for cervical cancer elimination as a benchmark for health equity and access.
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Countries agree to extend timeline for global action plan on dementia
Countries have endorsed a decision to extend the Global action plan on the public health response to dementia from 2025 to 2031, following a recommendation from WHO’s Executive Board. The revised timeline brings it in line with the Global action plan on epilepsy and other neurological Disorders 2022–2031, supporting a more coherent approach to the global response to neurological conditions.
The extension comes amid rising concern over the global burden of dementia. Dementia is the seventh leading cause of death worldwide and a major driver of disability among older people. In 2021, 57 million people were living with dementia, over 60% in low- and middle-income countries. Every year, there are 10 million new cases that occur. Alzheimer disease, the most common form of dementia, accounts for the majority of cases.
The extension gives countries space to accelerate national responses, invest in care and support systems, and integrate dementia into broader public health and ageing agendas.
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In a Resolution endorsed today at the World Health Assembly, countries recommitted to tackling malnutrition in mothers, infants and young children, and agreed to new indicators to advance progress in critical areas like diversifying diets and breastfeeding. This Resolution also extended the deadline for meeting the targets of the current global comprehensive plan until 2030.
Since the plan was first adopted in 2012, there has been notable progress, including a decline in childhood stunting (being too short for one’s age) and to a lesser extent in wasting (being too thin for one’s height), while exclusive breastfeeding rates increased. However, little progress has been made against targets for reducing the prevalence of low birth weight and anaemia among women, making these critical areas for action.
More ambitious goals were set for improving breastfeeding and reducing the proportion of children who are overweight – noting that the initial targets were nearly achieved in these areas. The 2030 targets are:
Malnutrition has long-term effects on the development, health, and economic growth of individuals, communities and nations. Almost half of child deaths are linked to undernutrition. This new Resolution seeks to unify countries in their efforts to tackle these persistent issues.
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In a decisive move to advance digitized health systems, Member States agreed to extend the Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020–2025 through to 2027. They also approved a decision for the development of a new Global Strategy on Digital Health for 2028–2033, ensuring alignment with efforts such as the UN Pact for the Future and the Sustainable Development Goals. These steps reflect the growing momentum and critical importance of digital health in achieving equitable, resilient, and people-centred health systems.
Originally endorsed at the Seventy-third World Health Assembly (WHA73) in 2020, the Strategy has catalysed significant progress in equitable digital health implementation across all WHO regions. These include:
This extended Strategy is about accelerating action and launching a new critical phase in global efforts where digital health can be purposefully scaled and equitably integrated into every health system.
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Delegates welcomed WHO’s recommendation to extend the Global Strategic Directions for Nursing and Midwifery to 2030, underlining the essential role of nurses and midwives in delivering health services and strengthening systems.
The recently launched State of the world’s nursing report 2025 reveals that nurses account for approximately 39% of the global health workforce shortage, emphasizing the urgent need to address nursing deficits to achieve universal health coverage. The Assembly’s decision marks a critical step forward in advancing health workforce priorities and ensuring health systems are equipped to meet current and future demands.
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Member States commit to urgently address social connection
A historic resolution adopted by the World Health Assembly today recognized the crucial role that social connection plays in health and well-being for people of all ages. The Assembly agreed that social connection, which is characterized as the ways people relate to and interact with others, needs to be addressed as a public health priority, based on growing evidence linking it to improved health outcomes and reduced risk of early death. This phenomenon is becoming increasingly relevant in the context of rapid technological shifts and long-term social trends.
Social connection, an important determinant of health, is linked to other social, economic and environmental determinants, and its cumulative effects help shape people’s health across the life course. A lack of social connection is often associated with cardiovascular disease and mental health conditions, including depression, dementia and other types of cognitive decline. These impacts are felt not only by individuals but also by communities and societies.
Quality social connection, on the other hand, can prevent and reduce social isolation and loneliness, enhancing physical and mental health, extending lifespans, and supporting healthy behaviours. The Resolution – the first in the history of the WHA – urges Member States to develop and implement evidence-based policies, programmes and strategies to raise awareness and promote positive social connection for mental and physical health. WHO also announced a new campaign “Knot Alone” to promote social connection for better health.
The resolution also requests the Director-General to:
Member States reaffirmed support for a polio-free world, commending progress in stopping a wild poliovirus outbreak in several countries in Africa and addressing remaining challenges in Afghanistan and Pakistan. They welcomed advances in ending variant outbreaks, including success in Madagascar, while noting persistent risks in regions such as Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Yemen. Emphasis was placed on vaccine trust, gender equity, and humanitarian access, exemplified by successful campaigns in Gaza. Members stressed the urgency of sustaining eradication through strong health systems, containment, and strategic transition of polio assets. They backed the extended strategy to 2029, calling for innovative, diversified funding and continued political and financial commitment.
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Although smallpox was eradicated in 1980, the virus is held in two locations under WHO supervision to enable research, one being in the Russian Federation and the other in the United States of America. Delegates noted the report, recalling the importance of achieving smallpox eradication, and their commitment to the responsible destruction of variola virus, while recognizing the importance of ongoing essential research with transparency and international oversight.
The report also laid out progress made in responding to mpox outbreaks in Africa and around the world (mpox is currently a public health emergency of international concern), and for which the outcomes of variola virus research have been crucial. Delegates stressed the need to ensure equitable access to diagnostics and treatments for all Member States, as access to these measures remain challenging in low and middle-income countries.
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Enhancement of laboratory biosafety
Delegates noted a report on efforts towards enhancement of laboratory biosafety. Laboratories require stringent measures to safely contain high-consequence and other impact microbiological agents and toxins. Delegates highlighted the importance of laboratory safety to safeguarding public health and welcomed the publication of the 4th edition of the WHO's Laboratory Biosafety Manual and the release of a risk assessment mobile tool among others. While considerable achievements were made across the world, delegates recognized that challenges remain in regulatory oversight, funding gaps and engineering support.
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Israel’s intensified military operations continue to threaten an already weakened health system, amidst worsening mass population displacement and acute shortages of food, water, medical supplies, fuel and shelter.
Four major hospitals in Gaza (Kamal Adwan Hospital, Indonesia Hospital, Hamad Hospital for Rehabilitation and Prosthetics, and European Gaza Hospital) have had to suspend medical services in the past week due to their proximity to hostilities or evacuation zones, and attacks. WHO has recorded 28 attacks on health care in Gaza during this period and 697 attacks since October 2023.
Only 19 of Gaza Strip’s 36 hospitals remain operational, including one hospital providing basic care for the remaining patients still inside the hospital, and are struggling under severe supply shortages, lack of health workers, persistent insecurity, and a surge of casualties, all while staff work in impossible conditions. Of the 19 hospitals, 12 provide a variety of health services, while the rest are only able to provide basic emergency care. At least 94% of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip are damaged or destroyed.
The increased hostilities and new evacuation orders issued across northern and southern Gaza in the past two days threaten to push even more health facilities out of service. This includes 1 hospital, 11 primary care centres, and 13 medical points within the evacuation zones, and an additional 5 hospitals, 1 field hospital, 9 primary care centres, and 23 medical points within 1000 metres of those zones.
North Gaza has been stripped of nearly all health care. Al-Awda Hospital is only minimally functional, serving as a trauma stabilization point. It faces an imminent risk of closure due to ongoing insecurity and restricted access. The hospital’s third floor was reportedly attacked on Wednesday, injuring a staff member. Hostilities in the area also damaged the water tank and pipeline. Today, the hospital was attacked again. The third and fourth floors were reportedly hit, injuring two health workers. Patient triage tents, including one provided by WHO, caught fire, which also burned all medical supplies in the warehouse and destroyed vehicles in the basement. A WHO mission attempting to reach the hospital today was impeded.
The Indonesian Hospital is out of service due to continued military presence since 18 May, making it inaccessible. Yesterday, a WHO mission to the hospital was forced to abort due to the security situation after waiting nearly four hours for clearance to proceed. WHO team had planned to deliver food and water to patients, assess their conditions, and identify critical equipment for transfer. WHO tried to reach the hospital again today, but the mission was impeded.
Kamal Adwan Hospital, which had the only centre to treat patients with severe acute malnutrition in North Gaza, went out of service on 20 May after intense hostilities in its vicinity, forcing patients to evacuate or be discharged prematurely.
In southern Gaza, Nasser Medical Complex, Al-Amal, and Al-Aqsa hospitals are overwhelmed by a surge of injured people, worsened by a new wave of displacement to Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. The European Gaza Hospital remains out of service following an attack on 13 May, cutting off vital services including neurosurgery, cardiac care, and cancer treatment – all unavailable elsewhere in Gaza.
Currently, across the Gaza Strip, only 2000 hospital beds remain available, for a population of over 2 million people, grossly insufficient to meet the current needs. Of these, at least 40 beds are at risk of being lost as they are in hospitals within newly declared evacuation zones, while an additional 850 could be lost if conditions deteriorate at facilities near these zones.
Continued hostilities and military presence inhibit patients from accessing care, obstruct staff from providing care, and prevent WHO and partners from resupplying hospitals.
With each hospital forced out of service, patients lose access to health care, and WHO and partners’ efforts, to sustain Gaza’s health system are undone. The destruction is systematic. Hospitals are rehabilitated and resupplied, only to be exposed to hostilities or attacked again. This destructive cycle must end.
Amid constant fear and insecurity, health workers, including those from national and international emergency medical teams, continue delivering urgent care in Gaza. WHO salutes their courage and commitment.
WHO calls for the active protection of health care. Hospitals must never be militarized or targeted.
WHO calls for aid at scale to be allowed into Gaza through all possible routes, and for unimpeded humanitarian access to reach people wherever they are. Echoing the United Nations’ Relief Chief, WHO reiterates that the UN and its partners have a clear, principled and effective plan to deliver aid with safeguards against diversion, a system that has worked and must be enabled to continue.
WHO calls for an immediate and lasting ceasefire.
Thursday’s Committee B noted the Results Report 2024, and the financing and implementation of the Programme budget 2024–2025. Member States commended the transparency, and the level of detail provided. At the same time, Member States noted with concern that while some important achievements have been realized, progress is insufficient in reaching the SDG targets. In addition, Member States also advocated for more equitable funding across the Organization. The committee approved decision 78/17 Add.1 and 78/17 Add.2.
Delegates welcomed WHO’s Investment Round (IR), which will fund the Organization’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work – 2025–2028 (GPW 14) – its global health strategy for the next four years that has the potential to save 40 million lives if fully funded. By April 2025, pledges of US$ 1.7 billion had been received. During the Health Assembly at least an additional US $210 million was committed, with further amounts expected. Since the start of the Investment Round, 62 pledges have been made by Member States, with a further 20 pledges by philanthropic organizations. Of the 62 pledgers, 35 had not previously provided voluntary contributions to WHO.
The pledges not only assure more sustainable financing but show global solidarity in the face of unprecedented challenges. The committee called for increased efforts to secure predictable, resilient and flexible funding.
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On 21–22 May 2025, the World Health Assembly discussed WHO’s work in health emergencies. Over the last year, WHO responded to 51 graded emergencies across 89 countries and territories, including global outbreaks of cholera and mpox – a public health emergency of international concern – as well as multiple humanitarian crises. Working with over 900 partners across 28 health clusters, WHO helped provide health assistance for 72 million people in humanitarian settings. Nearly 60% of new emergencies were climate-related, highlighting the growing health impacts of climate change.
Member States noted the WHO Director-General’s report on the implementation of the health emergency prevention, preparedness, response and resilience (HEPR) framework. The report outlined progress made in the key areas of collaborative disease surveillance, community protection, safe and scalable care, access to medical countermeasures and emergency coordination, and stressed that insufficient and unpredictable funding poses a significant risk to health systems worldwide.
Delegates noted the report of the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee (IOAC) for WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. The report presents several recommendations to the Director-General aimed at strengthening WHO’s work in emergencies. The chair of the IOAC commended WHO’s leadership – particularly that of Dr Mike Ryan, the outgoing Executive Director of the Health Emergencies Programme, for his pivotal role and contributions to global health.
The Director-General also reported on Universal Health and Preparedness Review (UHPR) to the Assembly, a unique process for Member States to assess their health emergency preparedness. UHPR was launched in November 2020 as a voluntary, country-led mechanism, in response to early lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Member States noted the Director-General’s report on progress made in implementing the International Health Regulations (2005), which outline the rights and obligations of countries in managing public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders.
In 2024, WHO assessed over 1.2 million raw signals related to public health risks, identifying and verifying 429 events with potential or actual international public health implications.
All countries but one provided their self-assessment report to the Assembly. Numerous joint external evaluations, after- and intra-action reviews, and training were conducted to strengthen preparedness and response capacities.
Member States recommended to the Assembly the adoption of a decision for the Director-General to notify Palestine of the International Health Regulations (2005). This is a step prior to Palestine expressing interest in becoming a States Party to the Regulations. This follows the resolution approved during the World Health Assembly last year on aligning the participation of Palestine in WHO with its participation in the United Nations.
The Assembly also noted the Standing Recommendations issued by the Director-General on COVID-19 (valid until April 2026) and mpox (valid until August 2025).
At last year’s World Health Assembly, Member States adopted historic amendments to the Regulations, drawing on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. The amendments are expected to come into force in September 2025.
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Member States approved a decision related to public health and social measures, urging the strengthening of the research base on these interventions. Public health and social measures are nonpharmaceutical interventions used to reduce the spread of an infectious disease and lower hospitalizations and death. Examples include screening for diseases, personal hygiene measures and changing the way people gather or travel. These measures played an important role in buying time for countries to develop and distribute treatments, diagnostics and vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the evidence base on the effectiveness of these measures remains limited.
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Delegates noted the Director-General’s report on the implementation of a resolution on WHO’s response to the health emergency triggered by the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine. In 2024, WHO reached an estimated 4.7 million people with health support in Ukraine and more than 400 000 refugees in neighbouring countries. WHO delivered over US$ 32.5 million worth of medicines, medical equipment and supplies to health facilities across Ukraine, and over US$ 4.9 million worth of supplies and equipment to refugee-hosting countries. Since 24 February 2022, a total of 2254 attacks on health care have been verified, resulting in 710 injuries and 208 deaths.
Member States voted on related decisions. The draft decision proposed by Ukraine and other countries to continue, among other things, to restore and strengthen Ukraine’s health-care system was approved. Suggested amendments to the draft decision proposed by the Russian Federation and other countries were rejected.
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Delegates noted the Director-General's report on the current health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, with the Gaza Strip facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis, with widespread displacement, destruction and death. The health system has been severely degraded by attacks, critical shortages of medicines, supplies and fuel, and restricted access. The report stated that between 1 January 2024 and 28 February 2025, 376 attacks on health care were reported in the Gaza Strip, resulting in 286 deaths and 591 injuries.
The health crisis in the West Bank has worsened since January 2025, with escalating violence and stricter restrictions on movement impeding access to health care.
WHO’s response has focused on providing essential health services, public health surveillance, disease prevention and control, provision of supplies and logistics, and partner coordination. The report stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, unrestricted humanitarian access and protection of health.
Member States noted the report and commended WHO's efforts towards the continuity of health services under difficult conditions. Delegates approved an accompanying resolution.
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Ministers from multiple countries hit by the abrupt cuts in external funding for health agreed on the urgent need for country-owned and implemented strategies – and a laser-sharp focus on health data – at a ministerial dialogue co-hosted by WHO and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly.
Opening remarks by Professor Senait Fisseha, Vice President of Global Programs at the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, set the tone by noting that the crisis presents an opportunity for a turnaround in how health financing policies and health data systems are built and operated.
Specifically, this is a time for countries to reduce their reliance on external health information systems and external financing; build out their domestic data infrastructure, from vital statistics to downstream impact and return-on-investment; and establish resilient systems designed to withstand shocks, so that access to essential services is protected.
Professor Fisseha called on countries “to use this moment to rethink data and financing in a way that best meets your needs and the needs of your people [...] For countries to truly lead and for funders and development partners to start to learn how to follow. Data and financing are a natural place to start because that is where ministers are telling us to start.”
Dr Tedros said, “From expanding domestic financing to pioneering real-time data systems, many of you are advancing solutions that are scalable, sustainable and rooted in equity. Data and sustainable financing are not just technical matters. They are political choices. They shape who is reached, how quickly, and with what quality of care. And they determine whether we progress or fall behind."
Ministers from Barbados, Central African Republic, Egypt, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, and representatives from the African Union and the World Bank, among others, shared experiences and advice on concrete actions to strengthen data systems, health financing and planning – urging intensified collaboration in the future. They also spoke of the need to leverage the digital transformation and thereby increase transparency and accountability.
Also discussed: strategies to improve domestic financing capacity while maximizing impact include: strengthening tax administration; exploring revenue sources such as taxes on such items as food, alcohol and tobacco; setting up population-wide mandatory health coverage schemes, coupled with subsidies for low-income households and vulnerable population groups; promoting strategic purchasing of health supplies; prioritizing health in public spending; and integrating externally-funded programmes into domestic financing systems and priorities.
Later this week the Assembly will take up the proposed WHA Health Financing Resolution.
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On 21 May 2025, the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly noted a report from the Director-General, outlining WHO’s humanitarian and emergency health response in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, from January 2024 to February 2025.
A report on the health conditions in the occupied Syrian Golan couldn’t be provided this year again due to the ongoing situation and the lack of disaggregated health data on the Syrian population. Member States were invited to provide guidance on how to support WHO and partners to restore essential health services across Syria and enable a WHO field-assessment mission to the occupied Syrian Golan.
Member States expressed grave concerns over the deterioration of the health system in Gaza, including forced displacement, overcrowding and deteriorating sanitation, and attacks on health, stressing the need for concerted action to address the dire health needs.
A number of Member States presented draft decisions asking the Director-General to continue reporting on the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, and more specifically on food insecurity and malnutrition in the Gaza Strip, and to continue supporting the Palestinian and Syrian health systems. The decision was adopted.
Related documents
A78/16: Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan
A78/B/CONF./1: Health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan
A78/B/CONF./1 Add.1: Financial and administrative implications for the Secretariat of decisions proposed for adoption by the Health Assembly
World leaders pledged at least an additional US$ 210 million to the World Health Organization (WHO) at a high-level pledging event Tuesday at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in Geneva. Amid rising global health challenges, leaders reaffirmed their support for multilateral cooperation through these contributions to WHO’s Investment Round (IR). Earlier in the day, Member States approved an increase in Assessed Contributions, adding a separate US$ 90 million a year of income, and marking another important step on WHO’s journey towards sustainable financing.
The IR is raising funds for WHO’s strategy for global health, the Fourteenth General Programme of Work, which can save an additional 40 million lives over the next four years. The pledges made today represent significant contributions from both governments and philanthropic partners.
“I am grateful to every Member State and partner that has pledged towards the investment round. In a challenging climate for global health, these funds will help us to preserve and extend our life-saving work,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “They show that multilateralism is alive and well.”
Both long-standing allies and new contributors stepped up at today’s pledging event, broadening WHO’s donor base with fresh voluntary funding. Moderated by Mr Moazzam Malik, CEO of Save the Children UK, the event and the World Health Assembly featured pledges from Angola, Cambodia, China, Gabon, Mongolia, Qatar, Sweden, Switzerland, Tanzania, The ELMA Vaccines and Immunization Foundation (with the WHO Foundation), Fondation Botnar, Laerdal Global Health (with the WHO Foundation), the Nippon Foundation and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The Children’s Investment Fund Foundation announced an additional US$ 13 million and committed to further increases in funding.
Among the announcements at least US$ 210 million is for the Investment Round, meaning that the funding supports WHO’s base budget from 2025–2028. Eight of the donors included a flexible contribution to WHO, the most valuable sort of funding, and four were first time donors.
WHO’s fundraising reach has also been extended through individual giving. Through the One World Movement, almost 8000 people from across the world have signed on as ‘Member Citizens’, contributing almost US$ 600 000 in donations, many monthly – a powerful expression of global solidarity and an affirmation that every voice counts.
The event’s speakers emphasized not only the need for continued investment, but the strategic value of flexible and diversified financing to keep WHO responsive, country-focused, and aligned with national health priorities – as it evolves into a leaner, more agile institution. The event was a pivotal moment in WHO’s journey to more sustainable funding.
As the IR continues, today’s event is a testament to the role of partnership in times of uncertainty. Contributions from each donor made at today’s pledging event can be found below. Each contribution to WHO brings us one step closer to better health for all united in the mission of “One World for Health”.
| Contributor | Additional amount for WHO Investment Round |
| Angola | US$ 8 million |
| Cambodia | US$ 400 000 |
| China | Contribution to Investment Round to be confirmed. |
| Gabon | US$ 150 000 |
| Mongolia | US$ 100 000 |
| Qatar | US$ 6 million |
| Sweden | €12 million = US$ 13.5 million |
| Switzerland | Sw.fr. 66 million = US$ 80 million |
| Tanzania | US$ 500 000 (in addition to US$ 500 000 already announced) |
| CIFF | US$ 13 million and commitment to further increase |
| The ELMA Vaccines and Immunization Foundation (with the WHO Foundation) | US$ 2 million |
| Foundation Botnar | Sw.fr. 8 million = US$ 9.6 million |
| Laerdal Global Health (with the WHO Foundation) | US$ 12.5 million |
| Nippon Foundation, Mr. Sasakawa, (Chairman) | US$ 9.2 million |
| Novo Nordisk Foundation | DKK 380 million = US$ 57 million |
Editor's note
On 21 May 2025, a correction was made in this news release to reflect the increased pledge from Switzerland from 33 million Swiss francs (US$ 40 million) to 66 million Swiss francs (US$ 80 million), to provide the full name of The ELMA Vaccines and Immunization Foundation, and to note “(with the WHO Foundation)” with Laerdal Global Health.
On 27 May 2025, a correction was made to this news release, both in the headline and the main text, to reflect the increase of the total amount pledged during the event from US$ 170 million to US$ 210 million.
Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) today formally adopted by consensus the world's first Pandemic Agreement. The landmark decision by the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly culminates more than three years of intensive negotiations launched by governments in response to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and driven by the goal of making the world safer from – and more equitable in response to – future pandemics.
Related documents
A78/10 Add.1, Outcome of informal consultations of Member States, Draft resolution on the WHO Pandemic Agreement
Delegates at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly (WHA78) approved the base programme budget of US$ 4.2 billion for 2026–2027, the first to be fully developed based on the Fourteenth General Programme of Work, 2025–2028 (GPW 14), the global health strategy for the next four years. GPW 14 prioritizes advancing health equity and strengthening health systems resilience.
The budget presented to WHA78 committee A was decreased from the initial US$ 5.3 billion presented to the executive board in February given the challenging financial context. While decreasing some regional budgets and headquarters budgets, Member States agreed to try to preserve country level budgets to the extent possible. The budget will allocate resources to enhance technical cooperation, foster partnerships and support the achievement of national and global health targets. The proposed programme budget 2026–2027 also reaffirms the indispensable role of multilateralism in addressing today’s complex and interconnected health challenges.
Member States also approved the gradual second 20% increase of the assessed contributions (AC), or membership fees which had been previously adopted by the Member State Working Group on sustainable financing. This ensures that WHO funding is not only predictable, but also resilient and flexible, which is critical given the rapidly changing financial landscape.
Member States also had the opportunity to review the implementation of governance reform. In a time of geopolitical tension and rising inequalities, WHO remains a vital platform for cooperation, solidarity and coordination in global health
World leaders pledged significant contributions to the WHO Investment Round at a high-level pledging event Tuesday evening, another key step in WHO’s journey to sustainable financing.
Related documents
A78/6, Proposed programme budget 2026–2027 (Corrigendum 1) (Add.1)
A78/37, Report of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the
Executive Board to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly
A78/INF./8, General Programme of Work, 2025–2028: baselines and
targets for outcome and output indicators
A78/4, Consolidated report by the Director-General
A78/5, Governance reform (Add.1)
A78/39, Governance reform, Process of handling and investigating potential allegations against WHO Directors-General
During the high-level segment, delegates heard from H.E. João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço, President of Angola and Chairperson of the African Union; H.E. Andrej Plenković, Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia; and H.E. Liu Guozhong, Vice Premier of the People’s Republic of China. Video statements were made by a number of world leaders across the globe.
Egyptian opera singer Farrah El-Dibany and Soprano singers Elaine Vidal and Eunice Miller of the Philippines performed at the Health Assembly on Tuesday morning.
The Director-General also presented Global Health Leader’s awards to Professor Sir Brian Greenwood and Professor Awa Marie Coll Seck for their pivotal work in malaria control and beyond.
The Assembly started on Monday 19 May 2025 under the theme “One World for Health”.
The election of officials took place on Monday morning. Dr Teodoro Herbosa of the Philippines became the President of the Health Assembly. The elected Vice-Presidents are Dr Jalila bint Al Sayyed Jawad Hassan of Bahrain, Dr Sayedur Rahman of Bangladesh, Mr Jaime Hernán Urrego Rodríguez of Colombia, Dr Judit Bidlo of Hungary and Dr Louise Mapleh Kpoto Liberia.
H.E. Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Federal Councilor of the Swiss Confederation, addressed the Health Assembly on behalf of the host country.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, WHO Director-General, delivered his report to the Assembly.
In a show of support for a sustainably financed World Health Organization, WHO Member States today approved a 20% increase in assessed contributions (membership dues) as they endorsed the Organization’s 2026–27 budget of US$ 4.2 billion.
This is the second such 20% increase in assessed contributions to WHO, the previous being agreed as part of the 2024–25 budget. It comes as governments are facing financial constraints and economic headwinds and demonstrates Member States’ fundamental support for global health solidarity and the critical role of WHO.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General, and other senior leaders thanked Member States for their support and partnership, noting their profound vote of confidence in WHO’s mission and their commitment to health security and resilience worldwide.
Insufficient levels of predictable funding of WHO has hindered its ability to carry out long term projects and support its global operations to promote health for all. This, in addition to over reliance on funding from a small set of traditional donors, was identified as a major organizational challenge in WHO’s Transformation initiative that launched in 2017.
In 2022, WHO Member States agreed an historic increase in their assessed contributions by gradually increasing their membership dues to represent 50% of WHO’s core budget by the 2030–2031 cycle, at the latest. In the 2020–2021 biennium, assessed contributions represented only 16% of the approved programme budget.
While this work began years ago, due to recent changes in the global financial landscape, sustainable financing is more important than ever before. WHO’s originally approved 2026–27 programme budget was downsized 22% (from US$ 5.3 billion to US$ 4.2 billion) due to financial constraints.
Today’s approval of WHO’s base programme budget of US$ 4.2 billion for 2026–2027 is the first to be fully developed based on the Organization’s Fourteenth General Programme of Work, 2025–2028 (GPW 14), its global health strategy for the next four years.
Note to editor
At its meeting in January 2021, WHO’s Executive Board established the Sustainable Financing Working Group to begin work on a path towards resolving the widening gap between the world’s expectations of WHO and the financial resources available to us to meet them.
In addition to increasing Member State assessed contributions to WHO, several other resource mobilization initiatives are being undertaken to support WHO’s activities. These include the establishment of the WHO Foundation, diversification of WHO’s donor base, and staging of its first Investment Round, including today’s high-level pledging event.
Ensuring WHO has sustainable levels of financing is critical for it to continue responding to health emergencies, increasing health-care access, and ensuring people are living healthy lives.
The Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly marks a key moment in the transformation of WHO to become a more efficient and effective organization, made possible by contributions from partners across the globe.
In recognition of their lifetime achievements in global health, specifically in malaria elimination and beyond, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has given his Award for Global Health this year to Professor Awa Marie Coll Seck and Professor Sir Brian Greenwood.
The Director-General’s Award for Global Health, established in 2019, was conferred during the High-Level segment on Tuesday, 20 May, at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly and this year included an honorary lifetime achievement award to each recipient.
“Their invaluable contributions have helped to alleviate the burden of malaria and other vaccine-preventable diseases and to build sustainable health system capacity in Africa,” said Dr Tedros.
Noting Professor Coll Seck’s achievements, Dr Tedros said, “While serving as Senegal’s Minister of Health, Professor Awa Marie Coll Seck led landmark reforms, expanded universal access to care and integrated disease control programmes.”
In addition to making significant contributions to scientific literature, Professor Coll Seck was, from 2004–2011, the Executive Director of the Roll Back Malaria (RMB) partnership, where she mobilized political will to accelerate malaria interventions in low-income countries.
She has also been active on several high-profile boards and advisory groups, including the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, PATH, and other international NGOs and initiatives working on health financing, vaccines, and health system strengthening. She is currently the President of Forum Galien Afrique.
Professor Coll Seck was born in Senegal and trained as a physician with a specialization in infectious diseases. She earned her medical degree from the University of Dakar and pursued further specialization in bacteriology and virology in France.
“I’ve had the privilege of contributing to notable progress but I’ve also borne witness to ongoing challenges and emerging emergencies whether they be in terms of climate, demography or technology. This prize is all the more important in that it symbolizes trust in the values that I defend: solidarity between peoples, science in the service of humanity and the leadership of women in the health system,” said Professor Coll Seck.
Professor Greenwood is best known for his pivotal work in malaria control. He has also played a central role in shaping global health policy and research strategies, serving on numerous advisory boards, including those of WHO.
“Over the last five decades, Professor Sir Greenwood performed pioneering research and made major contributions to infectious disease control. His work on malaria has been instrumental in shaping modern approaches to control this devastating disease. His contributions range from the introduction of insecticide-treated bed nets to groundbreaking trials for the RTS,S malaria vaccine, the first vaccine to be recommended for widespread use,” said Dr Tedros.
Professor Greenwood’s early career focused on infectious disease research in Nigeria and The Gambia, where he lived for decades and led a multidisciplinary programme targeting diseases like malaria, pneumonia, measles, and HIV2. In The Gambia, he demonstrated the effectiveness of insecticide-treated nets in reducing child mortality and morbidity and contributed to malaria control through seasonal antimalarial drug administration.
In 1996, Professor Greenwood returned to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, continuing his research at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He contributed to the successful use of the MenAfriVac vaccine in the African meningitis belt, which helped stop epidemics in Chad. He also advocated for combining seasonal vaccination with seasonal malaria chemoprevention.
Reflecting on his career, which began in Nigeria as a young doctor about 60 years ago, Professor Greenwood said, “The pediatric wards were full of measles, meningitis, malaria, polio, there were still even occasions with smallpox coming to hospital. The under-5 child mortality was about 400 per thousand in parts of west Africa. So, how that’s changed in one person’s lifetime. Many of those diseases are not gone but are much reduced and there has been a dramatic improvement in under-5 child mortality. In The Gambia where I also worked, that’s now 40, a 10-fold drop.”
Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) today formally adopted by consensus the world's first Pandemic Agreement. The landmark decision by the 78th World Health Assembly culminates more than three years of intensive negotiations launched by governments in response to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and driven by the goal of making the world safer from – and more equitable in response to – future pandemics.
“The world is safer today thanks to the leadership, collaboration and commitment of our Member States to adopt the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “The Agreement is a victory for public health, science and multilateral action. It will ensure we, collectively, can better protect the world from future pandemic threats. It is also a recognition by the international community that our citizens, societies and economies must not be left vulnerable to again suffer losses like those endured during COVID-19.”
Governments adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement today in a plenary session of the World Health Assembly, WHO’s peak decision-making body. The adoption followed yesterday’s approval of the Agreement by vote (124 in favour, 0 objections, 11 abstentions) in Committee by Member State delegations.
“Starting during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments from all corners of the world acted with great purpose, dedication and urgency, and in doing so exercising their national sovereignty, to negotiate the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement that has been adopted today,” said Dr Teodoro Herbosa, Secretary of the Philippines Department of Health, and President of this year’s World Health Assembly, who presided over the Agreement’s adoption. “Now that the Agreement has been brought to life, we must all act with the same urgency to implement its critical elements, including systems to ensure equitable access to life-saving pandemic-related health products. As COVID was a once-in-a-lifetime emergency, the WHO Pandemic Agreement offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build on lessons learned from that crisis and ensure people worldwide are better protected if a future pandemic emerges.”
The WHO Pandemic Agreement sets out the principles, approaches and tools for better international coordination across a range of areas, in order to strengthen the global health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. This includes through the equitable and timely access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
Regarding national sovereignty, the Agreement states that: “Nothing in the WHO Pandemic Agreement shall be interpreted as providing the Secretariat of the World Health Organization, including the Director-General of the World Health Organization, any authority to direct, order, alter or otherwise prescribe the national and/or domestic law, as appropriate, or policies of any Party, or to mandate or otherwise impose any requirements that Parties take specific actions, such as ban or accept travellers, impose vaccination mandates or therapeutic or diagnostic measures or implement lockdowns.”
Notes for editors
The resolution on the WHO Pandemic Agreement adopted by the World Health Assembly sets out steps to prepare for the accord’s implementation. It includes launching a process to draft and negotiate a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS) through an Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG). The result of this process will be considered at next year’s World Health Assembly.
Once the Assembly adopts the PABS annex, the WHO Pandemic Agreement will then be open for signature and consideration of ratification, including by national legislative bodies. After 60 ratifications, the Agreement will enter into force.
In addition, Member States also directed the IGWG to initiate steps to enable setting up of the Coordinating Financial Mechanism for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and the Global Supply Chain and Logistics Network (GSCL) to “enhance, facilitate, and work to remove barriers and ensure equitable, timely, rapid, safe, and affordable access to pandemic-related health products for countries in need during public health emergencies of international concern, including pandemic emergencies, and for prevention of such emergencies.”
According to the Agreement, pharmaceutical manufacturers participating in the PABS system will play a key role in equitable and timely access to pandemic-related health products by making available to WHO “rapid access targeting 20% of their real time production of safe, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for the pathogen causing the pandemic emergency.” The distribution of these products to countries will be carried out on the basis of public health risk and need, with particular attention to the needs of developing countries.
The WHO Pandemic Agreement is the second international legal agreement negotiated under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution, the first being the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2005.
World Health Organization Member States, meeting today in Committee A of the World Health Assembly, approved a resolution that calls for the adoption of an historic global compact to make the world safer from future pandemics. The WHO Pandemic Agreement will next be considered for final adoption by the Assembly on Tuesday during the plenary session.
Monday’s approval of the Pandemic Agreement resolution follows a more than three-year process, launched by governments during the COVID-19 pandemic, to negotiate the world’s first such accord to address the gaps and inequities in preventing, preparing for and responding to pandemics. This watershed agreement was adopted under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution. It aims to foster stronger collaboration and cooperation among countries, international organizations like WHO, civil society, the private sector and other stakeholders to prevent pandemics occurring in the first place, and to better respond in the event of a future pandemic crisis.
“Governments from all over the world are making their countries, and our interconnected global community, more equitable, healthier and safer from the threats posed by pathogens and viruses of pandemic potential,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “I congratulate WHO‘s Member States for resolving to come together in the aftermath of COVID-19 to better protect the world from future pandemics. Their work to develop this global accord will ensure countries work better, faster and more equitably together to prevent and respond to the next pandemic threat.”
The Pandemic Agreement and the resolution calling for its adoption will be taken up by the full plenary of the World Health Assembly on Tuesday, 20 May. Immediately after, there will be a High-Level segment featuring statements from Heads of States of multiple countries.
“The WHO Pandemic Agreement is a demonstration of the shared desire by all people to be better prepared to prevent and respond to the next pandemic, with a commitment to the principles of respect for human dignity, equity, solidarity and sovereignty, and basing public health decisions to control pandemics on the best available science and evidence,” said the Honorable Dr Esperance Luvindao, Minister of Health and Social Services of Namibia, and Chair of the Committee A meeting that adopted today’s resolution. “The costs that COVID inflicted on lives, livelihoods and economies were great and many, and we – as sovereign states – have resolved to join hands, as one world together, so we can protect our children, elders, frontline health workers and all others from the next pandemic. It is our duty and responsibility to humanity.”
The resolution sets out several steps for taking the world forward and preparing for the Pandemic Agreement’s implementation. It includes the launch of a process to draft and negotiate an annex to the Agreement that would establish a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS) through an Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG). The result of this process will be considered at next year’s World Health Assembly. Once the Assembly adopts the PABS annex, the Pandemic Agreement will then be open for signature and consideration of ratification, including by national legislative bodies. After 60 ratifications, the Agreement will enter into force.
In addition, Member States also directed the IGWG to initiate steps to enable setting up of the Coordinating Financial Mechanism for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and the Global Supply Chain and Logistics Network (GSCL) to “enhance, facilitate, and work to remove barriers and ensure equitable, timely, rapid, safe, and affordable access to pandemic-related health products for countries in need during public health emergencies of international concern, including pandemic emergencies, and for prevention of such emergencies.”
According to the Agreement, pharmaceutical manufacturers participating in the PABS system will play a key role in equitable and timely access to pandemic-related health products by making available to WHO “rapid access targeting 20% of their real time production of safe, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for the pathogen causing the pandemic emergency.” The distribution of these products to countries will be carried out on the basis of public health risk and need, with particular attention to the needs of developing countries and those supported through the GSCL.
The Pandemic Agreement aligns with the International Health Regulations, amendments to which were adopted by governments at last year’s World Health Assembly to bolster international rules to better detect, prevent and respond to outbreaks.
Dr Tedros thanked the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) that coordinated and facilitated the process to draft and negotiate the Pandemic Agreement. The WHO Director-General also praised the tireless work and excellence of the WHO Secretariat team that supported the Bureau and Member States, led by Dr Michael Ryan and Dr Jaouad Mahjour.
“An immensely talented, experienced and driven WHO team was assembled to support the vision of governments to develop this historic Pandemic Agreement,” Dr Tedros said. “This group of individuals, representing so many countries and regions of the world, deserve enormous credit and thanks from the international community for what they have done to help make the world safer for future generations.”
The INB was established in December 2021, at a special session of the World Health Assembly. WHO Member States were tasked to develop a convention, agreement or other international instrument under the WHO Constitution to strengthen pandemic preparedness, prevention and response. Members of the INB Bureau that guided the process were Co-Chairs Ms Precious Matsoso (South Africa) and Ambassador Anne-Claire Amprou (France), and Vice-Chairs Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes (Brazil), Ambassador Amr Ramadan (Egypt), Dr Viroj Tangcharoensathien (Thailand); and Ms Fleur Davies (Australia). Past members included former Co-Chair, Mr Roland Driece (the Netherlands), and former Vice-Chairs Ambassador Honsei Kozo (Japan), Mr Kazuho Taguchi (Japan), and Mr Ahmed Soliman (Egypt).