Why WHO’s pandemic prevention draft agreement takes a nature-centric, One Health approach (commentary)

Why WHO’s pandemic prevention draft agreement takes a nature-centric, One Health approach (commentary)

At 4 a.m. CET on April 16, 2025, in Geneva, after years of negotiation and a final day of intense deliberation, the World Health Organization’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body reached consensus on a Draft Pandemic Agreement. This historic agreement lays the groundwork for how the world will prevent, prepare for, and respond to future pandemics. More than just a document, the agreement represents a global commitment to multilateralism and coll…

Commentary on the WHO’s Draft Pandemic Agreement: Pointless Verbiage

Background The draft Pandemic Agreement (PA) has been under development for three years by delegates of 194 Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO), the health agency of the United Nations instituted after the Second World War. The WHO has been pushing to negotiate a pandemic treaty or accord to better prepare the world for pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response, in parallel with a new set of amendments to the 2005 Internat…