WHO Seventy-ninth Assembly May 21

The World Health Organization said on May 21 that member states meeting in Geneva at the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly continued work on health emergency preparedness, pandemic-related negotiations and financing. The Assembly is WHO’s top decision-making meeting and is being held from May 18 to May 23, according to the agency’s Assembly page. (who.int) WHO’s daily update for May 21 showed delegates moving through both technical health items and budget matters as the week-long session continued. The May 21 bulletin showed that the agenda stretched beyond a single pandemic item. WHO said the day’s work included tuberculosis, health emergencies, the International Health Regulations, the open-ended intergovernmental working group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, and financing and performance matters tied to the 2026-2027 programme budget. (apps.who.int) WHO’s governing-body documents list those items in the formal Assembly paperwork and timetable. ### Which WHO meeting was underway in Geneva on May 21? The Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly was in session in Geneva on May 21, WHO said. The agency says the Assembly brings together delegations from all WHO member states and serves as its decision-making body for global health policy and governance. (who.int) The May 18-23 schedule matters because Assembly business is split across plenary meetings and two main committees. WHO’s governing-body portal lists daily timetables, agenda documents and draft decisions for member states as the week progresses. ### What did WHO say delegates were discussing that day? WHO’s May 21 daily update said countries endorsed a decision requesting Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to develop a post-2030 tuberculosis strategy for submission to the Eighty-first World Health Assembly in 2028. (who.int) The same update said delegates also took up public health emergencies and pandemic-related governance items. (who.int) The formal document list for WHA79 names those emergency items more specifically. WHO lists “Public health emergencies: preparedness and response,” implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005), the intergovernmental working group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, and “WHO’s work in health emergencies,” including an update on strengthening prevention, preparedness, response and resilience. (apps.who.int) ### Where does financing fit into the May 21 agenda? WHO’s Assembly documents show financing was part of the same week’s negotiations, not a separate process. The governing-body portal lists agenda items on the programme budget for 2026-2027, operational efficiencies, assessed contributions, and audited financial statements for 2025. (who.int) Committee B, which handles administrative, financial and legal matters, held its third and fourth meetings on May 21, according to WHO’s second report of Committee B. That report said the committee recommended decisions and resolutions to the full Assembly on several agenda items. ### How does the pandemic agreement appear in the Assembly record? (apps.who.int) WHO’s official paperwork shows the pandemic agreement remained an active Assembly item on May 21. The document list includes “Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement” as agenda item A79/8, with a related note on financial and administrative implications. The May 21 daily update places that item alongside broader emergency preparedness work. (apps.who.int) That means member states were handling pandemic governance inside the Assembly’s formal structure while also moving other health-security and financing files at the same meeting. ### What happens after the May 21 update? (apps.who.int) WHO says the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly continues through May 23 in Geneva. The agency’s governing-body portal publishes the preliminary daily timetable, agenda papers, committee reports and statements submitted by member states and other participants. The next formal marker is additional committee and plenary business before the Assembly closes on May 23. (apps.who.int) WHO’s daily updates and WHA79 document page are the agency’s running public record of what member states adopt, defer or send forward to later assemblies. (who.int)