With the WHO’s new Pandemic Agreement in place, will global cooperation rise to the challenge?
WHILE THERE ARE reports of the dreaded Covid-19 making a reappearance in several countries, including India, the picture is not entirely gloomy. The world today, under the guidance of the latest WHO agreement on Covid-19, seems better equipped and more coordinated to face the disease.
In a rather uncanny coincidence, with the return of Donald Trump as the new American president, Covid-19 cases in Asia have also seen a surge in recent weeks. Hong Kong, Singapore, and Thailand are reported to be the most affected. However, so far, India has remained largely unaffected by the resurgence in Covid cases, with the government maintaining that the situation is under control.
So, after facing years of a pandemic that almost brought the world to a standstill, the big question is whether Covid is truly back. In a timely development, member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) on May 19 formally adopted by consensus the world’s first Pandemic Agreement. This agreement is driven by the goal of making the world safer from – and more equitable in response to – any future pandemics.
According to data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India reported 752 fresh infections over the past week, taking the country’s total active caseload to more than 1,000. Kerala reported the highest number of cases at 335, followed by Maharashtra at 430 and Tamil Nadu at 34.
Other states showing an upward trend include Gujarat (83 cases), Karnataka (47), Uttar Pradesh (15), and West Bengal (12), according to data released by the Union Health Ministry on Monday, May 26. Delhi recorded 99 new cases, with their active tallies now at 209 and 104, respectively.
The rise in cases comes amid the detection of two new sub-variants – NB.1.8.1 and LF.7 – which are currently under observation by global health authorities.
Is India truly prepared this time — or will it be back to Taali-Thaali theatrics?
Genome sequencing by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) has confirmed the presence of these two new variants. They are currently classified as Variants Under Monitoring by the World Health Organization, not as Variants of Concern.
Experts from the National Centre for Disease Control, Emergency Medical Relief Division, Disaster Management Cell, Indian Council of Medical Research, and central government hospitals, after a review meeting last week, stated: “The meeting concluded that the current Covid-19 situation in India remains under control.
As of May 19, 2025, the number of active Covid-19 cases in India stands at 257 — a very low figure considering the country’s large population. Almost all of these cases are mild, with no hospitalisation required,” an official told PTI.
Authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore have urged caution but have also stated that these waves were expected. The Singapore Ministry of Health and the Communicable Diseases Agency said that the estimated number of Covid-19 cases stood at 14,200 for the week of April 27 to May 3, up from the previous week’s figure of 11,100, The Straits Times reported.
“After the resumption of normalcy, Hong Kong experienced cycles of active periods of Covid-19 every six to nine months. We expect the activity level of Covid-19 to remain at a higher level for at least the next few weeks,” said Edwin Tsui, Controller of Hong Kong’s Centre for Health Protection, in a press release.
Last week, Singapore’s Health Minister Ong Ye Kung posted on Facebook that periodic Covid-19 waves are “expected throughout the year.”
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Disease Control and Prevention Agency extended its seasonal Covid vaccination period last month by two months, until the end of June. It advised people aged 65 and above to get inoculated with the JN.1 shot from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE.
Historic Pandemic Agreement
Under the aegis of the WHO, the World Health Assembly adopted a historic Pandemic Agreement to make the world more equitable and safer from future pandemics. The agreement’s adoption follows three years of intensive negotiations launched in response to gaps and inequities identified during the national and global Covid-19 response. The agreement boosts global collaboration to ensure a stronger, more equitable response to future pandemics.
“The world is safer today thanks to the leadership, collaboration, and commitment of our Member States to adopt the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“The agreement is a victory for public health, science, and multilateral action. It will ensure we, collectively, can better protect the world from future pandemic threats. It is also a recognition by the international community that our citizens, societies, and economies must not be left vulnerable to suffer losses like those endured during COVID-19.”
“Now that the agreement has been brought to life, we must all act with the same urgency to implement its critical elements, including systems to ensure equitable access to life-saving pandemic-related health products.
As COVID was a once-in-a-lifetime emergency, the WHO Pandemic Agreement offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build on lessons learned and ensure people worldwide are better protected if a future pandemic emerges,” said Dr. Teodoro Herbosa, Secretary of the Philippines Department of Health and President of this year’s World Health Assembly, who presided over the agreement’s adoption.
The WHO Pandemic Agreement sets out the principles, approaches, and tools for better international coordination across a range of areas to strengthen the global health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. This includes ensuring equitable and timely access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
The resolution also outlines steps to prepare for the accord’s implementation. The most important next step is to launch a process to draft and negotiate a Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system through an Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG). The result of this process will be considered at next year’s World Health Assembly.
Once the Assembly adopts the PABS annex, the WHO Pandemic Agreement will then be open for signature and ratification by national legislative bodies. After 60 ratifications, the agreement will enter into force.
Additionally, Member States have directed the IGWG to initiate steps to establish the Coordinating Financial Mechanism for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response, as well as the Global Supply Chain and Logistics Network (GSCL). These initiatives aim to “enhance, facilitate, and work to remove barriers and ensure equitable, timely, rapid, safe, and affordable access to pandemic-related health products for countries in need during public health emergencies of international concern, including pandemics, and for the prevention of such emergencies.”
The WHO Pandemic Agreement is only the second international legal agreement negotiated under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution, the first being the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2005.
However, the global comity must also develop measures to ensure the preparedness of global supply chains, so that shortages — including of medical kits, masks, and food supplies — do not fall as a burden on the common man across the world. 
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Asad Mirza
The author is a New Delhi-based senior commentator on national and international affairs, defence and strategic issues, and environmental concerns. He is also an interfaith practitioner and a media consultant. Previously, he was associated with the BBC Urdu Service and the Khaleej Times in Dubai.
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