Six years after COVID-19 caused millions of deaths, disrupted health systems and shook the global economy, international health authorities are still working to strengthen the systems needed to prevent another outbreak from producing the same scale of disruption.
The World Health Organization says more than seven million deaths were recorded from COVID-19, while the pandemic also exposed major inequalities in access to vaccines, tests and treatments, with more than 60 per cent of emerging infectious diseases transmitted from animals to humans.
International cooperation has advanced through the WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted in May 2025 as the first binding global accord focused on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, though implementation is not yet complete.
Countries are still negotiating the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing annex, known as PABS, intended to establish arrangements for sharing pathogen samples while ensuring countries in need can gain access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments developed from them. The agreement will require 60 ratifications before it can legally enter into force.
The issue moves to the centre of the international agenda on September 25, when the 193-member United Nations General Assembly holds a high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response at UN Headquarters in New York.