WHO Announces ‘Pandemic Agreement’ Years After COVID-19

The Trump administration ordered a U.S. withdrawal from WHO as well as the pandemic treaty negotiations earlier this year.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus holds a press conference at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Dec. 14, 2022. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on April 15 that its member states reached a “pandemic agreement,” five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, to prepare for future ones.

“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,” the United Nations-backed health body said in a statement.