World Health Organization member states have reached consensus on the Pandemics Agreement, which regulates global action should similar events occur in the future. Negotiations on this document, initiated amid the COVID-19 pandemic, lasted more than three years and required 13 formal rounds, nine of which were extended, and numerous informal and intersessional discussions. Article 11 of the agreement, which deals with the provision of technologies to develop countries to combat the pandemic, was particularly controversial.
Ultimately, a draft 32-page document was approved by all parties. The final version of the document will be presented at the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the consensus agreement historic.
