WHO To Study Major Reforms, Meet Again On Pandemic Treaty

Health ministers from WHO's 194 member states will also meet from November 29 to decide whether to launch negotiations on an international treaty aimed at boosting defences against any future pandemic.

The World Health Organization, battling to coordinate the global response to the coronavirus pandemic, agreed on Monday to study recommendations for ambitious reforms made by independent experts to strengthen the agency. Under the resolution put forward by the European Union, and adopted by consensus, member states are to be firmly in the driver's seat of the reforms, which follow criticisms of the global handling of the crisis. The new virus has infected more than 170 million people and killed nearly 3.7 million, according to a Reuters tally of official national figures. Health ministers from WHO's 194 member states will also meet from November 29 to decide whether to launch negotiations on an international treaty aimed at boosting defences against any future pandemic.