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 Such an agreement to beef up measures against pandemics is expected
to be ready in May 2024, covering issues from data sharing and
genome sequencing of emerging viruses to equitable distribution of
vaccines and drugs derived from research.
"The adoption of this decision is cause for celebration and a cause
for hope that we all need," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom
Ghebreyesus told the meeting of health ministers.
"Of course there is still a long road ahead. There are still
differences of opinion about what a new accord could or should
contain," he said, calling for continued cooperation.
In the meantime, countries should abide by the WHO's 2005
International Health Regulations, he said.
The decision, entitled "The World Together", was adopted by
consensus at a special assembly of the 194 nations that are members
of the U.N. health body, drawing applause at the end of a three-day
meeting.
"The text before us is the product of extensive discussions, of
frank exchanges and of compromises," said Australia's ambassador
Sally Mansfield, who co-chaired the working group.
The European Union (EU) had pushed for agreement on an international
legally binding treaty, along with about 70 countries, but Brazil,
India and the United States were among those reluctant to commit to
a treaty, diplomats said.
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 "We call for an ambitious
process in developing this treaty - let us all
demonstrate our multilateral commitment and
engagement towards a binding instrument,"
Ambassador Lotte Knudsen, head of the EU
delegation to the United Nations in Geneva, said
in a statement on Wednesday. The
United States welcomed the decision saying in a statement: "This
momentous step represents our collective responsibility to work
together to advance health security and to make the global health
system stronger and more responsive."
More than 262.22 million people have been reported infected with
SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, and 5.46 million
killed since it emerged in China in December 2019.
The WHO says China has still not shared some of its early data that
might help pinpoint the origin of the virus.
China said on Monday that it was ready to work on developing a new
international agreement which it hoped would avoid "politicisation,
stigmatisation and instrumentalisation".
(Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Alex Richardson,
Clarence Fernandez and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
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