WHO honors global leaders for driving Pandemic Agreement adoption

The World Health Organization has formally recognized the pivotal role of a number of heads of state and government in securing the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement by the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in May 2025.

At a special event at WHO Headquarters in Geneva on 10 July 2025, plaques were presented to the representatives of two countries whose former and current presidents, His Excellency Sebastián Piñera, former President of Chile, and His Excellency Kais Saied, President of Tunisia, advocated for the Agreement from the outset. Certificates were also awarded to leaders of 25 other countries for their guidance and commitment throughout the negotiation process.

The adoption by the World Health Assembly of the Pandemic Agreement was a historic moment in global health. But we would not have reached that moment without sustained political advocacy from the highest levels".

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General

Countries whose current or former presidents or prime ministers were also recognized include Albania, Costa Rica, Croatia, Fiji, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Senegal, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The Pandemic Agreement represents a global commitment to a more robust international health architecture, one that is grounded in equity, cooperation, and shared responsibility.

Political momentum behind the Agreement was galvanized in part by a commentary published in major international outlets in 2021, in which 25 heads of state and international organizations called for a pandemic treaty.

Work has now begun to take forward key elements of the Pandemic Agreement, in particular on pathogen access and benefit sharing. This work is being led by an intergovernmental working group (the "IGWG on the WHO Pandemic Agreement"), which met for the first time this week.