WHO adopts a ‘pandemic agreement’ after the chaos of COVID – CTV
May 20, 2025
GENEVA — World Health Organization member countries on Tuesday approved an agreement to better prevent, prepare for and respond to future pandemics in the wake of the devastation wrought by the coronavirus.
Sustained applause echoed in a Geneva hall hosting the WHO’s annual assembly as the measure — debated and devised over three years — passed without opposition.
The U.S., traditionally the top donor to the UN health agency, was not part of the final stages of pandemic agreement process after the Trump administration announced a U.S. pullout from the WHO.
Many world leaders offered words of support for the UN health agency, and praised the show of multilateralism.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking by video, congratulated WHO and the other member states, calling the accord “a shared commitment to fight future pandemics with greater cooperation while building a healthy planet.”
While many supporters praised the “historic” deal, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. delivered a scathing critique of the UN health agency, saying the United States was working with unspecified “like-minded” countries to improve the global health system and called on health ministers in others to join.
