Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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September 15, 2025 Healthcare
The next pandemic or other health emergency is inevitable, it’s just a question of when, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned in his speech at the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, stressing the importance of finalizing the landmark document.
He recalled that work on the Agreement began during the pandemic Covid-19, when serious shortcomings in ensuring global sanitary and epidemiological security became apparent. Since then, according to Ghebreyesus, the world has made significant progress. This Friday, September 19, amendments to the International Health Regulations adopted by the World Health Assembly last year will come into force.
Countries of the world adopted the first ever international agreement, aimed at better preventing, preparing for and responding to future pandemics, at the World Health Assembly in May this year after three years of negotiations. The WHO Director-General called it “a truly landmark event in the lifetime of this generation.”
“It is now your duty to complete this historic work by finalizing, as mandated by the World Health Assembly, the system for ensuring access to pathogens and benefit-sharing,” he told the working group members.
According to him, the goal remains the adoption of the Annex on Access to Pandemic Potential Pathogens (APPP) by the World Health Assembly in May next year – followed by the signature and ratification of the Agreement on Combating Pandemics by Member States.
“Every country should be interested in avoiding further delays in the process,” the head of WHO noted.
He stressed that the next pandemic or major global health emergency “will definitely happen, it’s just a question of when.” It is vital, the WHO chief continued, that by the next session of the UN General Assembly, the annex on the APRP is adopted by the World Health Assembly and the Pandemic Agreement is open for signature and ratification.
Ghebreyesus expressed confidence that the working group is capable of overcoming differences, reaching a compromise and completing the process within the established time frame.
"Let's finish this historic agreement. Let's finish what we started, because without the annex, the Agreement on Combating Pandemics will be incomplete," the WHO Director-General concluded.
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