Member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) have recently agreed on the world’s first Pandemic Agreement. This landmark decision was made in response to the devastating global impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 78th World Health Assembly announced this agreement, which was the culmination of three years of intense negotiations by governments across WHO regions. This accord aims to protect the world and equitably distribute resources for future pandemics.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director general, stated that: “These sobering data not only point to the impact of the pandemic but also to the need for all countries to invest in more resilient health systems that can sustain essential health services during crises, including stronger health information systems.” According to leading data and analytics company GlobalData, from January 2020 to May 2025, 41 million deaths had a Covid-19 diagnosis (clinically confirmed Covid-19 cases), out of which 6.7 million deaths occurred in the US, 4.2 million deaths occurred in Brazil, and 3.2 million deaths occurred in India.
The Pandemic Agreement addresses the gaps and inequities in preventing, preparing for, and responding to pandemics in WHO member states. Collaboration and cooperation between countries, the WHO, the pharmaceutical industry, and the private sector will help prevent pandemics from occurring in the first place and will provide a better response to tackle outbreaks of disease. The Covid-19 pandemic caused global disruptions, and health systems became incapable of reliably providing care due to lack of resources, especially in poorer countries. Collaboration and cooperation between countries were lacking, and there was inequitable distribution of scarce resources among WHO member countries.
A series of steps will be taken to prepare for the Pandemic Agreement’s implementation, including the negotiation of a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system through an Intergovernmental Working Group. The result of this process will be considered and ratified at next year’s World Health Assembly. Member states will also initiate steps to coordinate, finance, and set up a global supply chain and logistics network for the equitable distribution of resources and to prevent disease outbreaks. Governance and oversight mechanisms will be established to ensure trust, accountability, and transparency in pandemic responses. The pharmaceutical industry and private sector will both play a key role in providing timely access to vaccines and other healthcare resources needed by WHO member states.
The agreement will enter into force after at least 60 countries sign it next year. People worldwide will be better protected from future disease outbreaks once the agreement is implemented.
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By GlobalData