WHO pushes pandemic talks forward

The World Health Assembly spent May 22 moving ahead on the machinery of pandemic preparedness even as the hardest political disputes around global outbreak rules and equitable access remain unsettled. The World Health Organization said delegates at its seventy-ninth annual meeting in Geneva discussed implementation of the Pandemic Agreement, sustainable financing, health emergencies, antimicrobial resistance and noncommunicable diseases. The same day, member states decided to establish a joint process, led by governments and hosted by WHO with global health partners, to support reforms of the global health architecture. ### What did delegates actually do on May 22? WHO’s May 22 daily update said the assembly took up a cluster of technical and governance items rather than reopening the entire pandemic accord from scratch. The agenda included implementation of the Pandemic Agreement, financing questions, emergency preparedness, antimicrobial resistance and noncommunicable diseases, according to the update. (who.int) The assembly also decided on May 22 to create what WHO described as a joint process led by member states and hosted by WHO, with global health partners, to support reforms of the global health architecture. WHO presented that step as part of a broader effort to strengthen emergency prevention, preparedness, response and resilience. ### Why is implementation still being discussed if the agreement was already adopted? (who.int) The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted by the World Health Assembly on May 20, 2025, but the process did not end there. WHO’s explanation says the 2025 resolution also set up an Intergovernmental Working Group to conclude remaining work so the agreement can be opened for signature and ratification by member states. (who.int) A WHO resolution published with the 2025 agreement says the treaty can be opened for signature only after the Health Assembly adopts the annex described in Article 12. That means some institutional and legal pieces still need to be finished before countries move to signature and later ratification. ### Which unresolved pieces are still hanging over the talks? WHO’s public materials show that implementation of the agreement sits alongside separate agenda items on the International Health Regulations, health emergencies and financing. (who.int) Those parallel tracks matter because outbreak reporting rules, emergency response systems and funding arrangements are spread across several WHO processes rather than one text alone. (apps.who.int) Foreign Policy wrote on May 22 that efforts to build fairer pandemic arrangements are being undermined by geopolitical disorder and dysfunction in the United States, including on vaccine equity and outbreak response. That assessment was published as WHO delegates continued work in Geneva. ### What is WHO saying about the broader reform effort? (apps.who.int) WHO said on May 22 that member states established the new joint process to support reforms of the global health architecture. The organization’s daily update framed the decision as part of a continuing institutional effort inside the assembly rather than a one-day political breakthrough. (foreignpolicy.com) The seventy-ninth World Health Assembly is being held in Geneva from May 18 through May 23, according to WHO’s assembly page, and the organization has been issuing daily updates and posting official documents during the meeting. Those materials include agenda items on the Pandemic Agreement, implementation of the International Health Regulations and WHO’s work in health emergencies. (who.int) ### What happens next in this process? WHO’s 2025 questions-and-answers page says the next formal step is to conclude the remaining work on the agreement so it can be opened for signature and ratification by member states. The unresolved annex referenced in Article 12 remains one of the key procedural milestones in that sequence. (who.int) May 23 is the final scheduled day of the seventy-ninth World Health Assembly in Geneva, according to WHO, and the organization’s daily updates page is the public record for any further decisions, statements and timetable changes from named participants. (who.int 1) (who.int 2)