'Historic' WHO pact to tackle future pandemics

Geneva, April 16: Members of the World Health Organization reached a landmark agreement Wednesday on how to learn from COVID-19, which killed millions of people in 2020-22, and prepare the world for future pandemics. Sticking points on the road to the deal included how to share drugs and vac-

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cines fairly between wealthy countries and poorer ones.

The legally binding pact is widely seen as a victory for the global health agency at a time when multilateral organisations like the WHO have been battered by sharp cuts in US foreign funding. "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 health body said in a statement.