Photo: Collected
World Health Organization members on Saturday (1 June) extended negotiations on a landmark global agreement on handling future pandemics for up to a year, as the WHO chief warned that the next crisis was just a matter of time.
Two years of talks on a deal ended on May 24 without a finalised agreement, chiefly due to differences between well-off nations and those who felt cut adrift during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The final day of the week-long World Health Assembly (WHA) -- the decision- making annual gathering of the WHO's 194 member states -- allowed until next year's meeting to reach an accord.
"The historic decisions taken today demonstrate a common desire by member states to protect their own people, and the world's, from the shared risk of public health emergencies and future pandemics," said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"The decision to conclude the pandemic agreement within the next year demonstrates how strongly and urgently countries want it, because the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if."
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