WHO countries to hold special session on future pandemics

The World Health Assembly will hold a special meeting in November to discuss the feasibility of developing a convention to prepare for new pandemics.

Report informs citing TASS that the decision was made today by the participants of the 74th annual session of the Assembly, which was held in Geneva from May 24 to 31 in an online format.

In this decision, the Assembly invited the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) to "convene a special session of the World Health Assembly in November 2021" to develop a "convention, agreement or another international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response." The purpose of the November special session will be to "establish an intergovernmental process for drafting and negotiating" on such an international document. At the same time, it was recommended to consider the conclusions presented at the current Assembly by experts who proposed ways to improve the effectiveness of WHO's response to emergencies.

Assembly participants proposed to hold a special session from November 29 to December 1, 2021. The final decision on this matter should be taken by the WHO Executive Board at its 149th session, starting on June 2.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adanom Ghebreyesus said today at the Assembly that it is necessary to consider an international agreement on preparing for pandemics scrupulously and carefully, but it must be done urgently.