WHO Approves Landmark Global Pandemic Preparedness Treaty

The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken a major step toward strengthening global health security by approving a groundbreaking treaty aimed at enhancing pandemic preparedness. At the World Health Assembly on Monday, 124 member states voted in favor of the accord, with no opposing votes. Eleven countries, including Slovakia, Poland, Israel, Italy, Russia, and Iran, abstained. The vote followed a call by Slovakia, led by a vaccine-skeptic prime minister, to challenge the agreement.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus hailed the vote as a global commitment to building a more equitable, healthier, and safer world amid increasing threats from infectious diseases. The draft treaty seeks to correct systemic imbalances in the development and distribution of vaccines, medicines, and health tools—issues highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, which claimed millions of lives from 2020 to 2022.

The treaty will be formally adopted in a plenary session in Geneva on Tuesday. However, its implementation hinges on the completion of an annex concerning the sharing of pathogens, a process expected to take up to two years. Following that, countries will need to ratify the agreement domestically.

Despite its broad support, the United States is not bound by the treaty. U.S. representatives withdrew from negotiations after President Donald Trump began a formal process to exit the WHO upon taking office, halting funding from its largest financial contributor.

After three years of complex negotiations, global health experts view the agreement as a win for multilateral cooperation, particularly at a time when international institutions like the WHO face financial and political pressures.

By addressing future pandemic threats and ensuring fair access to health solutions, the treaty marks a historic move in global health governance.