Health: Global agreement on pandemics finally adopted at the WHO

This was the final step after more than three years of tough negotiations. The international agreement on the prevention and control of pandemics was adopted Tuesday at the World Health Organization (WHO).

"This agreement is a victory for public health, science, and multilateral action. It will allow us, collectively, to better protect the world against future pandemic threats," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "Today is a great day (...) it is a historic day," he said.

The text, adopted at the annual meeting of the World Health Organization's member countries, establishes earlier and more effective global coordination to prevent, detect, and respond more quickly to pandemic risks, following the collective failure to combat Covid-19, which has killed millions and devastated the global economy.

A success after often difficult and razor-thin negotiations, in a context of drastic cuts in the WHO budget, despite the fact that it is facing ever-increasing crises.

The resolution on the agreement was adopted in committee Monday evening by 124 votes in favor and none against. Countries that abstained included Iran, Israel, Russia, Italy, Slovakia, and Poland.

Although the US withdrawal from the WHO, decided by Donald Trump after his return to the White House, is not expected to take effect until next January, the United States had already withdrawn from the negotiations in recent months. And the country did not send any delegates to the assembly.