The theme of the 74th World Health Assembly (WHA), held May 24-31, was "Ending this pandemic, preventing the next: building together a healthier, safer and fairer world." In several ways, it was a historic meeting: first, the agenda was unusually packed with more than 70 resolutions up for debate (of which 30 were adopted). In addition, the WHA drew important lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. A central instrument discussed by Member States was the possible drafting of a new framework convention ("pandemic treaty"). The WHA decided to discuss such a treaty at a special meeting on 29 November - 1 December this year. The issue of more equitable vaccine distribution also drew significant attention; the WHO Director-General, experts, but also numerous representatives of Member States warned that present efforts to address the pandemic-related challenges were insufficient. Overall, as in previous years, the discussions were marred by geopolitical disputes.
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About this series
The ‘Geneva Telegram’ analyses and documents the processes in Geneva's multilateral organisations on current topics. The reports on multilateral issues draw on the expertise of the KAS Geneva team and external authors. The Geneva Telegram is supplemented by the Maps of the Month, which summarise the voting results of UN member states on selected topics.
