WHO chief backs ‘pandemic treaty’ to counter future outbreaks

The UN health agency’s director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says the ‘time has come’ for a global pandemic treaty.

The head of the World Health Organization has called for speedily launching global negotiations to agree on an international treaty on pandemic preparedness, as part of sweeping reforms envisioned by member states. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, told its annual ministerial assembly on Monday that the United Nations health agency faced a “serious challenge” to maintain its COVID-19 response at the current level and required sustainable and flexible funding. Earlier in the day, health ministers agreed to study recommendations for ambitious reforms made by independent experts to strengthen the capacity of both the WHO and countries to contain new viruses.