Health ministers and diplomats are in Geneva for the 79th World Health Assembly – a week of talks on key topics such as pandemic preparedness, health financing and how to manage public health across borders to save the most lives.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus used the opening session to argue that recent crises had reinforced the need for stronger international cooperation rather than fragmentation.
“From conflicts to economic crises to climate change and aid cuts, we live in difficult, dangerous and divisive times,” Tedros told the delegates.
Collaboration critical
The assembly convened just a day after the WHO chief declared a public health emergency of international concern over an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) that has spread to neighboring Uganda.
At the same time, the agency continues to coordinate the international response to the hantavirus outbreak aboard the cruise ship MV Hondius, which arrived in the Netherlands on Monday following a complex evacuation and repatriation operation led jointly by Spain and WHO in Tenerife, Canary Islands.
The remaining crew members who sailed the vessel to the Netherlands will now begin a 42-day quarantine period while the ship undergoes full cleaning and disinfection.
Tedros said both emergencies underscored the continued importance of rapid international coordination to respond to transboundary health threats.
Pressure rising
The session in Geneva comes at a turbulent time for international health systems, as humanitarian crises, climate-related shocks and growing economic pressures increasingly strain public health responses.
WHO itself has faced increasing economic uncertainty following sharp reductions in donor funding over the past year, forcing the organization to restructure programs and reduce staff.
According to WHO budget documents, unpaid assessed contributions from current and past fiscal periods totaled nearly $360 million by the end of 2025.
Key reforms
Tedros acknowledged the impact of the cuts but insisted the WHO had become more resilient after nearly a decade of reforms.
“We have now completed the restructuring process,” he said. “We have reached a position of stability and are moving forward with purpose and confidence.“
He argued that reforms launched nine years ago had already changed the organization’s scientific, emergency and financial health.
Among the highlighted initiatives were the establishment of the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin, the mRNA Technology Transfer Hub in South Africa and Pandemic Fund established jointly with the World Bank, which has provided $1.4 billion in grants to 128 countries.
WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus addresses the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva.
Pandemic agreement
Tedros also pointed to the negotiations that led to the pandemic agreement adopted by member states last year, along with changes to international health regulations aimed at strengthening global preparedness for future pandemics.
The last unresolved element remains negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing systemwhich the countries had hoped to complete by this week.
“It has not happened yet, but I am confident that it will happen,” Tedros said.
He also linked the current debate on global health financing to broader calls from developing countries for greater “health sovereignty” and less dependence on external aid.
“In the past year, many countries have experienced serious disruptions due to sudden and severe cuts in development aid,Tedros said.
“But they had an unintended benefit: they got a lot of leaders to say now is the time leave behind the era of donor dependency and open a new era of health sovereignty.“
Broad agenda
Over the coming week, delegates are expected to debate a broad agenda covering malaria elimination, antimicrobial resistance, mental health, immunization, universal health coverage, digital health and artificial intelligence (AI), emergency preparedness and health conditions in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
The Assembly will also consider proposals to reform the broader global health architecture and strengthen coordination between international institutions. Delegates are also expected to discuss the implications of the US announcement that it intends to withdraw from the WHO.
Prior to the opening, WHO presented its annual Global Health Leaders Awardswhich celebrates public health figures from Norway, Egypt, Ireland and the Bahamas for contributions ranging from infectious disease control to humanitarian medicine and emergency response.
Among the awardees was Michael Ryan of Ireland, the former executive director of the WHO’s Health Emergencies Program, who helped lead the organization’s response to COVID-19, the Ebola outbreak and several humanitarian crises.
