landmark Pandemic Agreement Reached

Geneva-In a move hailed as a significant step towards global health security,teh World Health assembly (WHA) has formally adopted the world’s first Pandemic Agreement. This agreement, reached by consensus among World Health Association (WHO) member states, aims to create a more equitable and robust response to future pandemics. The decision follows three years of intensive negotiations spurred by the gaps and inequities exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agreement seeks to strengthen global collaboration to ensure a stronger, more equitable response to future pandemics. Next steps include negotiations on a pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing system.

The Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly’s landmark decision 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.

WHO Budget Boosted by Membership Fee Increase

Delegates at the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly (WHA78) also approved a base program budget of $4.2 billion for 2026-2027. This budget, the first fully developed based on the Fourteenth General Program of Work, 2025-2028 (GPW 14), prioritizes advancing health equity and strengthening health systems resilience.

The budget presented to WHA78 committee A was decreased from the initial $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 program 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 possibility 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.

High-Level Segment and Director-General Awards

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 thier pivotal work in malaria control and beyond.

The Assembly started on Monday 19 may 2025 under the theme “One World for Health”.

H.E.Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Federal Councilor of the Swiss Confederation, addressed the Health Assembly on behalf of the host country.

Dr. Tedros Adhanom ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, delivered his report to the Assembly.

Related Documents

• Pandemic Agreement
• A78/10 ADD.1Outcome of informal consultations of Member States, Draft resolution on the WHO Pandemic agreement
• A78/6Proposed programme budget 2026-2027 (Correction 1) (Add.1)
• A78/37Report of the Programme, Budget and Governance Committee of the Executive Board to the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly
• A78/Inf./8General Programme of Work, 2025-2028: baselines and targets for outcome and output indicators
• A78/4Consolidated report by the Director-General
• A78/5Governance reform (Add.1)
• A78/39Governance reform, Process of handling and investigating potential allegations against WHO Directors-General