By Bunmi Yekini
The World Health Organization on Thursday honoured countries for eliminating diseases ranging from malaria to trachoma, while member states agreed to extend negotiations on a key section of the proposed pandemic agreement aimed at improving responses to future global health crises.
At the ongoing World Health Assembly in Geneva, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus presented his annual report under the theme “Reshaping global health: a shared responsibility”.
WHO presented certificates recognising public health achievements to Algeria, Australia, Burundi, Egypt, Fiji, Libya, Senegal and Tunisia for eliminating trachoma, while Chile was recognised for eliminating leprosy and Kenya for eliminating Human African trypanosomiasis, also known as sleeping sickness.
Suriname and Timor-Leste received recognition for malaria elimination, while Anguilla, the Bahamas, Brazil, Cuba, Denmark, Maldives, Montserrat, Oman, Sri Lanka and Turks and Caicos were honoured for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis. Portugal and the United Arab Emirates were recognised for eliminating trans fats from food supplies.
WHO also presented World No Tobacco Day awards to Liberia’s Health Minister Dr Louise Mapleh-Kpoto, Spain’s Health Minister Dr Monica Garcia Gomez, Uruguay’s Public Health Minister María Lustemberg Haro and Viet Nam’s Department of Legislation for contributions to tobacco control.
Separately, WHO member states agreed to continue negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex under the proposed WHO Pandemic Agreement, a mechanism intended to improve equitable sharing of pathogens, vaccines and other benefits during future pandemics.
The negotiations will continue under the Intergovernmental Working Group, with member states aiming to submit a final outcome either to the Eightieth World Health Assembly in May 2027 or at a special session in 2026. WHO said adoption of the annex was critical before the pandemic agreement could be opened for signature.
In Committee A discussions, delegates reviewed preparedness and response to health emergencies, including implementation of the International Health Regulations and WHO’s health emergencies programme. Delegates also discussed the impact of the conflict in the Middle East on healthcare systems and workers, and adopted a draft decision on the health emergency in Lebanon.
On the sidelines of the assembly, global health leaders marked the 10th anniversary of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme with a roundtable reflecting on lessons from COVID-19 and other outbreaks.
Tedros described COVID-19 as the “ultimate stress test”, saying it exposed weaknesses in preparedness, equity and public trust while accelerating innovation and international cooperation.
Speakers at the session called for sustained financing, stronger epidemic intelligence systems and more equitable access to medical countermeasures, warning that the world risked repeating past failures if lessons from the pandemic were not translated into long-term reforms.