GENEVA - Years-long negotiations culminated on Wednesday with countries agreeing the text of a landmark accord on how to tackle future pandemics, the World Health Organization said.
"After more than three years of intensive negotiations, WHO member states took a major step forward in efforts to make the world safer from pandemics, by forging a draft agreement for consideration at the upcoming World Health Assembly in May," the UN agency said in a statement.
"The nations of the world made history in Geneva today," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
"In reaching consensus on the Pandemic Agreement, not only did they put in place a generational accord to make the world safer, they have also demonstrated that multilateralism is alive and well, and that in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground, and a shared response to shared threats."
Five years after Covid-19 killed millions of people and devastated economies, a growing sense of urgency hung over the talks at a time when new health threats ranging from H5N1 bird flu to measles, mpox and Ebola were lurking.
The final stretch of negotiations also took place with cuts to US foreign aid spending and threatened tariffs on pharmaceuticals casting a new shadow over the talks.
Right until the last minute, disagreement had lingered over a few thorny issues.
Negotiators had stumbled over the agreement's Article 11, which deals with transferring technology for pandemic health products, sources told AFP.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, poorer countries accused rich nations of hoarding vaccines and tests.
Countries that have large pharmaceutical industries have strenuously opposed the idea of mandatory tech transfers, insisting they be voluntary.
It appeared the tech transfer obstacle could be overcome by adding that any transfer needed to be "mutually agreed".
In the end, the 32-page agreement was entirely highlighted in green, indicating it had been fully approved by WHO member states.
The finalised text will now be presented for sign-off at the WHO's annual assembly next month.