Six years after COVID-19 upended the world, governments are still struggling to agree on how future pandemics should be handled. But the World Health Assembly also revealed a broader shift: global health policy is no longer focused only on responding to crises, but increasingly on preventing them before they spiral out of control.
The EU used the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva to push for the still-unfinished WHO Pandemic Agreement. The treaty cannot become operational until countries agree on both how pathogens are shared during future pandemics and how vaccines and other medical countermeasures developed from those pathogens will be distributed.
But the Assembly also revealed how rapidly the global health agenda is expanding beyond pandemic preparedness alone. Governments adopted new commitments on tuberculosis, haemophilia, steatotic liver disease, misinformation, mental health and broader health system resilience.
The discussions reflected a broader transformation underway in global health governance. Preparedness is increasingly being linked to chronic disease, climate pressure, conflict and misinformation. Health leaders also stressed the growing importance of long-term societal resilience rather than emergency response alone.
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Pandemic agreement still blocked
One of the most politically sensitive debates at the Assembly centred on the unfinished rules for sharing pathogens and genetic sequencing data during future health emergencies. And how vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics developed from those pathogens are distributed more equitably across the world.
The system, known as the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex under the WHO Pandemic Agreement, remains unfinished after countries failed to reach consensus. The issue has become one of the defining geopolitical fault lines in post-COVID global health governance.
Speaking on behalf of the EU and its 27 member states, Cyprus reaffirmed the bloc’s support for completing the talks. “We remain committed to finalising the PABS negotiations once the outstanding issues have been solved,” Cyprus said.
The statement also underlined the urgency surrounding the negotiations. “The Pandemic Agreement adopted a year ago contains provisions that need to be translated into concrete action. While respecting the responsibilities of the future parties for the definition of their health policies,” the EU stated. Brussels argued that finalising the PABS annex was essential for the treaty to enter into force in a timely manner.
At the same time, the EU stressed the future system must remain workable in practice, describing the goal as an “effective, equitable and implementable” mechanism that can “make a real difference on the ground”. The mechanism should strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and global health security alongside the implementation of the Pandemic Agreement.
Next World Health Assembly
The World Health Assembly agreed that negotiations would continue through the Intergovernmental Working Group. The aim is to submit the annex for adoption either during a special session in 2026 or at the 2027 World Health Assembly.
The debate comes as WHO leaders continue warning that pandemic preparedness reforms remain incomplete despite the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement and revisions to the International Health Regulations.
Tuberculosis still kills by millions
Delegates also endorsed the development of a new post-2030 global tuberculosis strategy. WHO will present the strategy to the World Health Assembly in 2028 ahead of the next United Nations High-Level Meeting on TB.
There have been both significant progress and continuing failures in the global response to tuberculosis. According to WHO figures, expanded access to TB treatment between 2000 and 2024 saved an estimated 83 million lives. WHO also reported the first post-pandemic decline in TB incidence in 2024. In addition, access to essential TB services reached its highest recorded level.
Despite those gains, global End TB targets and broader Sustainable Development Goals remain off track due to chronic underfunding, inequality, conflict, climate-related displacement and disruptions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to WHO data, TB still kills around 1.2 million people each year.
Concerns are growing that tuberculosis, despite remaining one of the world’s leading infectious killers, risks losing political attention amid competing global crises.
Chronic disease and mental health
Noncommunicable diseases and mental health also featured prominently during the Assembly amid rising strain on health systems worldwide.
Countries approved a resolution formally recognising steatotic liver disease — previously known as fatty liver disease — as a major and rapidly growing contributor to the global burden of chronic illness. The condition affects an estimated 1.7 billion people globally. It is increasingly linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and other metabolic conditions.
The resolution calls on governments to integrate the disease into national NCD strategies, strengthen prevention and screening programmes. It also urges countries to improve access to diagnosis and treatment, while addressing broader risk factors such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity and harmful alcohol use.
At a separate strategic roundtable, ministers and health leaders also called for more integrated and people-centred approaches to noncommunicable diseases and mental health. Many health systems remain fragmented and poorly equipped to manage ageing populations, multimorbidity and widening health inequalities.
Participants highlighted prevention, taxation policies and broader social determinants of health as increasingly important components of future health policy.
Haemophilia and global diagnostic gap
Member states also adopted a resolution recommitting global action on haemophilia and other bleeding disorders. WHO estimates that nearly 70 per cent of people living with haemophilia worldwide remain undiagnosed.
Countries pledged to strengthen diagnostic capacity, improve referral systems and integrate bleeding disorders into broader national policies covering primary care, maternal health and noncommunicable diseases. The resolution also encourages them to include life-saving clotting factor therapies and newer non-factor treatments on national Essential Medicines Lists.
Delegates described the move as an effort to close a longstanding equity gap for patients with rare bleeding disorders who have historically received limited attention within global health policy.
Misinformation threatens public health
Misinformation and disinformation emerged as another major concern during the Assembly. Health leaders warned that false information is no longer simply a communication issue. It’s an increasingly significant public health threat capable of undermining vaccination campaigns, emergency response efforts and evidence-based policymaking.
Countries shared examples of “whole-of-government” approaches, community engagement strategies and partnerships with trusted local voices aimed at rebuilding trust in science and public institutions.
The discussions also reflected broader concerns around digital platforms, artificial intelligence and increasingly fragmented information ecosystems.
Europe backs stronger multilateral cooperation
The Assembly also became a platform for renewed European support for multilateral health governance at a time of growing geopolitical pressure on international institutions. A delegation from the European Parliament’s Public Health Committee (SANT), chaired by MEP Tilly Metz (Green-EFA/LUX), took part in the talks and met with WHO leadership.
Following the mission, the delegation reaffirmed support for “a well-funded, independent and science-based WHO”, arguing that Europe’s credibility as a global health actor would depend on its ability to align internal and external health policies.
Members stressed the importance of strengthening preparedness and supporting evidence-based public health action globally. They highlighted prevention-oriented health policy, antimicrobial resistance, pandemic preparedness, climate-related health risks and health equity as major priorities.
“This mission confirmed once again the essential role of the World Health Organization as the backbone of multilateral health cooperation at a moment when global health systems are under increasing pressure,” Ms Metz said.
From emergency response to long-term resilience
Beyond individual resolutions, the Assembly repeatedly returned to one central message: future preparedness can no longer remain reactive. Discussions marking the tenth anniversary of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme focused heavily on lessons learned from COVID-19, Ebola and other recent crises.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described COVID-19 as the “ultimate stress test”. The pandemic exposed major weaknesses in preparedness, financing, equity and public trust, while also accelerating innovation and scientific collaboration.
Health leaders stressed that future resilience will depend not only on emergency response systems. But also on stronger primary care, sustainable financing, trusted communication, resilient supply chains and more equitable access to medical countermeasures.
As negotiations on the Pandemic Agreement continue, WHA79 suggested that the definition of global health security is undergoing a major transformation. One that increasingly links pandemics with chronic disease, misinformation, climate pressure, conflict and broader societal resilience.
