WHO nations reach landmark deal to prevent future pandemics, learn from Covid-19 mistakes
After more than three years of talks and a final marathon session, weary delegates at the World Health Organization’s headquarters could finally pop the champagne corks at around 2.00am on Wednesday.
“In reaching consensus on the Pandemic Agreement, not only did they put in place a generational accord to make the world safer, they have also demonstrated that multilateralism is alive and well, and that in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground, and a shared response to shared threats.”
Five years after Covid-19 killed millions of people and devastated economies, a growing sense of urgency hung over the talks at a time when new health threats ranging from H5N1 bird flu to measles, mpox and Ebola were lurking.
The final stretch of negotiations also took place, with cuts to US foreign aid spending and threatened tariffs on pharmaceuticals casting a new shadow over the talks.
