The UN General Assembly formally adopted the political declaration on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response on 12 October, after leaders considered it in New York on 25 September1. The declaration does not unlock the WHO Pandemic Agreement, the treaty WHO members adopted in May 2025. Its pathogen-sharing annex, which sets how countries hand over virus samples and genetic data in return for a share of the vaccines and medicines made from them, still keeps the treaty from opening for signature. September's negotiating round ended without a text.
WHO now says the annex will go to the World Health Assembly in May 2027 "or earlier through a special session", and Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged states to "finalize negotiations"2. The same day in Berlin, the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence set a goal for every country to detect and understand an emerging threat within 24 hours by 20303.
On 16 October WHO and Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, signed an agreement on joint work in "unusual biological events, whether naturally occurring, accidental or deliberate", alongside chemical and radiological incidents and falsified medicines4. "Crime and health are increasingly interconnected," said Interpol Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza. The deal gives WHO a channel to police forces that the International Health Regulations, a health treaty, never had.
