WHO Director-General hopes to reach a historic agreement on the approach.

On May 21, the 76th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) opened in Geneva, Switzerland, focusing on "saving lives and improving the health of all."

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of its founding, and that the 76th WHA session will determine the immediate and long-term future of the WHO, starting with the draft budget for the next two years, key decisions on sustainable financing, and changes to improve the WHO's processes and accountability.

At this 10-day session, delegates will discuss the crucial role of the WHO in the global health emergency system. The session will also assess the WHO's achievements and challenges over the past year, along with future priorities based on its core pillars: Universal Health Coverage (UHC), Emergency Situations, and Promoting Health and Well-being.

In a video address to the opening of the session, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized that "achieving the best possible health for all, everywhere, is through cooperation." He stated that since the WHO's inception 75 years ago, human health has improved significantly, noting a 50% increase in life expectancy, a 60% reduction in infant mortality, and the eradication of smallpox. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has stalled and even reversed progress in public health, threatening to erode the enormous achievements of the past decades and set back the Sustainable Development Goals, Guterres urged the world to "continue working together and supporting the WHO in achieving the highest possible health standards for all."

In his opening remarks at the 76th WHA session, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated the significant achievements the organization has made over the past 75 years. He emphasized that the WHO faces complex challenges as global expectations of the organization have risen considerably.

The WHO head added that WHO member states have begun negotiations on an international agreement to ensure the world is better equipped to prevent or respond more effectively in the event of another future pandemic. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it should be a "historic agreement" marking a dramatic shift in the approach to global health security following the Covid-19 crisis. He said negotiations are still in their early stages, but the goal is to reach a conclusion by the next WHA meeting in May. This was also the message of a number of other high-level speakers that day.

Text and photos: VNA

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