Global pandemic accord adopted by WHO amid U.S. absence

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: May 20, 2025 10:20 AM EDT | Last Updated: 2 hours ago

Members of the World Health Organization adopted an statement connected Tuesday intended to amended preparedness for aboriginal pandemics pursuing the disjointed planetary effect to COVID-19, but the lack of the U.S. formed uncertainty connected the treaty's effectiveness.

After 3 years of negotiations, the legally binding pact was adopted by the World Health Assembly successful Geneva. WHO subordinate countries welcomed its passing with applause.

The pact was touted arsenic a triumph for members of the planetary wellness bureau astatine a clip erstwhile multilateral organizations similar the WHO person been battered by crisp cuts successful U.S. overseas funding.

"The statement is simply a triumph for nationalist health, subject and multilateral action. It volition guarantee we, collectively, tin amended support the satellite from aboriginal pandemic threats," said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The pact aims to guarantee that drugs, therapeutics and vaccines are globally accessible erstwhile the adjacent pandemic hits. It requires participating manufacturers to allocate a people of 20 per cent of their vaccines, medicines and tests to the WHO during a pandemic to guarantee poorer countries person access.

However, U.S. negotiators near discussions astir the accord aft President Donald Trump began a 12-month process of withdrawing the U.S. — by acold the WHO's largest fiscal backer — from the bureau erstwhile helium took bureau successful January.

Given this, the U.S., which poured billions of dollars into vaccine improvement during the COVID pandemic, would not beryllium bound by the pact. And WHO subordinate states would not look penalties if they failed to instrumentality it.

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. slammed the World Health Organization successful a video code to the assembly, saying it had failed to larn from the lessons of the pandemic with the caller agreement.

"It has doubled down with the pandemic agreement, which volition fastener successful each of the dysfunction of the WHO pandemic response.... We're not going to enactment successful that," helium said.

Accord draws mixed reviews 

The woody was reached aft Slovakia called for a ballot connected Monday, arsenic its COVID-19 vaccine-skeptic premier curate demanded that his state situation the adoption of the agreement.

One 100 and twenty-four countries voted successful favour, nary countries voted against, portion 11 countries, including Poland, Israel, Italy, Russia, Slovakia and Iran, abstained.

Some wellness experts welcomed the pact arsenic a measurement toward greater fairness successful planetary wellness aft poorer nations were near abbreviated of vaccines and diagnostics during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It contains captious provisions, particularly successful probe and development, that — if implemented — could displacement the planetary pandemic effect toward greater equity," Michelle Childs, argumentation advocacy manager astatine Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, told Reuters.

Others said the statement did not conscionable archetypal ambitions and that, without beardown implementation frameworks, it risked falling abbreviated successful a aboriginal pandemic.

"It is an bare shell.… It's hard to accidental that it's a pact with steadfast work wherever determination is simply a beardown commitment.... It's a bully starting point. But it volition person to beryllium developed," said Gian Luca Burci, an world advisor astatine the Global Health Centre astatine the Geneva Graduate Institute, an autarkic probe and acquisition organization.

Helen Clark, co-chair of The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, described the accord arsenic a instauration to physique from.

"Many gaps stay successful finance, equitable entree to aesculapian countermeasures and successful knowing evolving risks," she added.

The pact volition not spell into effect until an annex connected sharing of pathogenic accusation is finalized. Negotiations connected this would commencement successful July with the purpose of delivering the annex to the World Health Assembly for adoption, WHO said. A Western diplomatic root suggested it whitethorn instrumentality up to 2 years to beryllium finalized.