countries – members of the World Health Organization (WHO) voted by a majority vote for the adoption of an agreement on the fight against pandemias. This was announced by the general director of Tedros Adkhan Goebreesus in his account on the social network x.
The decision was made at the 78th session of the World Health Assembly, which takes place from May 19 to May 27 in Geneva.
124 countries voted in support of the agreement, against – 0. 11 countries abstained from participating in the vote.
The draft agreement will be officially adopted on Tuesday, May 20, at the plenary meeting of the World Health Assembly.
The agreement on the fight against pandemias is aimed at strengthening international cooperation in the field of prevention, ensuring readiness and response to future pandemic threats.
Tedros Adhan Goebreesus called the agreement “historical”.
“The approval of the resolution was the result of a more than three-year process, which was started by governments during the Covid-19 pandemic, within the framework of which negotiations were conducted on the first document of this kind in history. The agreement is aimed at eliminating gaps and inequality in preventing the pandemic, readiness for them and reaction to them. The document is designed to contribute to more close cooperation between the countries, international organizations, including WHO, civil society, private sector and other interested parties – both to prevent the pandemic and for a more effective response to future pandemic threats “: – the WHO statement said.
In December 2021, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the WHO member states decided to establish an intergovernmental negotiation body (MPPO) for preparation and coordination in accordance with the charter of the project of the Convention, Agreement or other international tools to strengthen measures in the field of pandemics to prevent and take response measures.