PH takes over presidency of World Health Assembly

Health Sec. Teodoro Herbosa

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines, through the Department of Health (DOH), has committed to champion health equity worldwide as the country takes over the role of being the president of the 78th session of the World Health Assembly (WHA78).

The WHA is the highest health policy-setting body of the World Health Organization (WHO), composed of health ministers from all member states.

“President Marcos’ direction is to address long-term health objectives, promote a more equitable and resilient global health landscape, and enable dialogue on critical health issues globally, having the Philippines in the forefront,” the DOH said in a statement on Sunday.

According to Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, the Philippines, as WHA78 president, is expanding its role in global health diplomacy, strengthening bilateral ties, and engaging in health cooperation initiatives with various countries.

This is the first time that the Philippines will take the role as president of WHA since the WHO was founded in 1948.

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The WHA president oversees the conduct of the assembly and guides members in critical discussions and decisions on global health policies and initiatives.

Pandemic Agreement

The WHA78 will convene from May 19 to May 27 in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme “One World for Health.”

“This year’s theme underscores WHO’s enduring commitment to solidarity and equity, highlighting that even in unprecedented times, everyone, everywhere should have an equal chance to live a healthy life,” the WHO said in a statement.

Among the highly anticipated highlights of the WHA78 will be the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement, a landmark proposal to prepare the world for future pandemics, which was developed over three years of intense negotiations.

“The adoption of the agreement is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to safeguard the world from a repeat of the suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the WHO said.

“The Pandemic Agreement can make the world safer by boosting collaboration among countries fairly in the preparedness, prevention and response to pandemics,” WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.

The agreement is widely seen as a victory for the global health agency, at a time when multilateral organizations like the WHO have been battered by sharp cuts in foreign funding by the United States.

The United States, which was slow to join the early talks, left the discussions this year after US President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February withdrawing the United States from the WHO and the talks. /cb