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Five years after COVID-19 triggered national lockdowns, economic uncertainty and killed millions, the World Health Organization's member countries agreed on a draft "pandemic treaty" that sets guidelines for how the international community might confront the next global health crisis.
After the world's largely disastrous response to the coronavirus, countries tasked the WHO with overseeing a pandemic treaty in 2021; negotiations concluded early Wednesday on an agreement expected to be adopted next month at the U.N. health agency's annual meeting in Geneva.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus heralded it as a historic moment, saying countries have proven that "in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground and a shared response."