Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly – Daily update: 19 May 2026

At the World Health Assembly today, Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus presented his report on the work of WHO to Member States and the Assembly started general discussion under the theme “Reshaping global health: a shared responsibility”. The Secretariat presented certificates of achievement for outstanding public health achievements: Algeria, Australia, Burundi, Egypt, Fiji, Libya, Senegal and Tunisia for trachoma elimination; Kenya for Human African trypanosomiasis elimination; An

The goal of the PABS Annex is to provide a framework for ensuring a better, more equitable, response to future pandemics. During the past year, WHO Member States have held extensive negotiations on the Annex, and the outcome of their work was presented to the World Health Assembly. WHO Member States agreed to submit the outcome of their negotiations on the PABS Annex for consideration by the Eightieth World Health Assembly in May 2027, or at a dedicated special session of the Assembly in 2026. Adoption of the PABS Annex is critical for the opening for signature of the WHO Pandemic Agreement. WHO Member States will resume negotiations on the PABS Annex following the World Health Assembly at the seventh meeting of the IGWG being held on 6-17 July 2026. In Committee A, delegates discussed preparedness for and response to public health emergencies, and noted the report on the implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005) and the report of the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. Delegates also discussed the health impact of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, with a focus on the protection of health care and health workers in conflict settings, and took note of the report on WHO’s work in health emergencies. The Committee adopted a draft decision on the health emergency in Lebanon. From COVID-19 to action: reflections through a decade of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme On the margins of the World Health Assembly, global leaders convened for a strategic roundtable reflecting on lessons from COVID‑19 and other crises, coinciding with the tenth anniversary of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE). Opening the session, Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu, WHE’s Executive Director, highlighted that WHE’s evolution has been shaped by lessons from successive emergencies, especially COVID‑19. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the pandemic as the “ultimate stress test,” exposing weaknesses in preparedness, equity, and trust, while accelerating innovation and global collaboration. Dr Mike Ryan, Former Executive Director of WHE, added historical perspective, noting that global health systems have often evolved reactively after crises such as SARS, Ebola, and COVID‑19, and must now adapt proactively to future threats.

Key points

• The goal of the PABS Annex is to provide a framework for ensuring a better, more equitable, response to future pandemics.
• During the past year, WHO Member States have held extensive negotiations on the Annex, and the outcome of their work was presented to the World Health Assembly.
• WHO Member States agreed to submit the outcome of their negotiations on the PABS Annex for consideration by the Eightieth World Health Assembly in May 2027, or at a dedicated special session of the…
• Adoption of the PABS Annex is critical for the opening for signature of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
• WHO Member States will resume negotiations on the PABS Annex following the World Health Assembly at the seventh meeting of the IGWG being held on 6-17 July 2026.