Recent deadly outbreaks show why countries need to complete a global pandemic agreement, according to World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Speaking at negotiations in Geneva, he pointed to a hantavirus outbreak earlier in the year and the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He warned that a disease threat in one country can become a threat everywhere.
Countries adopted the agreement in May 2025 to prepare for future pandemics like COVID-19. However, they postponed decisions about a central system for sharing pathogens—viruses and other organisms that cause disease. The system also covers fair distribution of vaccines, tests, and treatments developed from those pathogens. Wealthy and developing countries remain divided over how it should operate.
Tedros recalled that COVID-19 vaccines were developed unusually quickly. Yet many countries had to wait while others obtained far more doses than they needed.
Hans Kluge, WHO's regional director for Europe, said countries across all six WHO regions had raised concerns about getting vaccines promptly and obtaining affordable medicines. He called for rapid sharing of pathogen samples and data, alongside fair access to the resulting health products. He said the world must not repeat the inequalities experienced during COVID-19.
