International agreement on pandemics adopted at the WHO

By The New Obs with AFP

Published on May 20, 2025 at 11:19 a.m. , updated on May 20, 2025 at 1:41 p.m.

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After more than three years of tough negotiations, a historic international agreement on the prevention and control of pandemics was adopted this Tuesday, May 20, at the World Health Organization (WHO).

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"This agreement is a victory for public health, science, and multilateral action. It will allow us, collectively, to better protect the world against future pandemic threats," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. "Today is a great day […] it is a historic day," he told AFP.

The text, adopted at the annual meeting of the World Health Organization's member states, establishes earlier and more effective global coordination to prevent, detect, and respond more quickly to pandemic risks, following the collective failure to combat Covid-19 , which has killed millions and devastated the global economy.

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A success after often difficult and razor-thin negotiations, in a context of drastic cuts to the WHO budget , despite the fact that it is facing ever-increasing crises. The resolution on the agreement was adopted in committee on Monday evening by 124 votes in favor and no votes against. Among the countries that abstained were Iran, Israel, Russia, Italy, Slovakia, and Poland.

Although the US withdrawal from the WHO , decided by Donald Trump after his return to the White House, is not expected to take effect until January, the United States had already withdrawn from the negotiations in recent months. And the country did not send any delegates to the assembly.

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"The Covid-19 pandemic has been an electroshock. It has brutally reminded us that viruses know no borders, that no country, however powerful, can face a global health crisis alone," noted Anne-Claire Amprou, France's ambassador for global health, who co-chaired the negotiations. The agreement aims to guarantee equitable access to health products in the event of a pandemic. The issue had been at the heart of many grievances among poorer countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, when they saw rich countries appropriating vaccine doses and other tests.

Negotiations have long stumbled over key issues such as pandemic surveillance and the sharing of data on emerging pathogens and the benefits they generate, including vaccines, tests, and treatments . At the heart of the agreement is a new "pathogen access and benefit sharing" (PABS) mechanism, which is intended to enable "very rapid and systematic sharing of information on the emergence of pathogens with pandemic potential," according to Anne-Claire Amprou.

Each pharmaceutical company that agrees to participate in the mechanism will have to, in the event of a pandemic, make available to the WHO "rapid access to a targeted percentage of 20% of its real-time production of safe vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics," including a "minimum of 10%" as a donation and the remaining percentage "at an affordable price ." The practical details of the mechanism - considered the jewel of the agreement - still need to be negotiated, within the next one to two years, before the agreement can be ratified. Sixty ratifications will be needed for the treaty to enter into force.

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The agreement also strengthens multisectoral surveillance and the "One Health" approach (human, animal, and environmental). "When we know that 60% of emerging diseases are caused by zoonoses, i.e. pathogens that are transmitted from animals to humans, this is obviously important," emphasizes Anne-Claire Amprou. It also encourages investment in health systems so that countries have sufficient human resources and strong national regulatory authorities.

During these three years of negotiations, the agreement has been fiercely opposed by those who believe it will limit state sovereignty. In 2023, billionaire Elon Musk , one of Donald Trump's inner circle, called on countries "not to cede their authority" in the face of the proposed international agreement aimed at combating pandemics.

The WHO then accused him of spreading "fake news . " "The pandemic agreement is not going to change that. The agreement will help countries better protect themselves against pandemics. It will help us better protect people, whether they live in rich or poor countries," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus replied.

Le Nouvel Observateur

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