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    • News
    • 78th World Health Assembly

    Landmark pandemic treaty adopted despite pushback by some countries

    The treaty is designed to create a world better prepared for pandemics, ensuring a more equitable distribution of lifesaving medical interventions, a key challenge highlighted by the COVID-19 response.

    By Jenny Lei Ravelo // 20 May 2025

    World Health Organization member states adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement on Tuesday, after more than three years of negotiations.

    The adoption follows a committee meeting, where the majority of WHO member states voted in favor of adopting the treaty in a meeting in Geneva that stretched late into the evening on Monday.

    In a vote called for by Slovakia at the 78th World Health Assembly, 124 countries voted in favor of the resolution to adopt the long-awaited pandemic treaty — a sweeping effort to fix the global failures exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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    Read more:

    ► Countries reach historic pandemic treaty deal after prolonged stalemate

    ► Opinion: The case for democratizing global pandemic preparedness

    ► Opinion: Failing to finalize a pandemic agreement is not an option

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    About the author

    • Jenny Lei Ravelo

      Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo

      Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.

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