Genava : Dozens of lawmakers, IPU and World Health Organization (WHO) officials and other stakeholders from around the world gathered in Geneva on 20 May 2026 for the Global Parliamentary Forum, held on the sidelines of the 79th World Health Assembly. The meeting focused on two urgent priorities: how to turn the WHO Pandemic Agreement into national reality, and how to secure sustainable financing for health.
The Pandemic Agreement, adopted in May 2025, still depends on the finalization of the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex before countries can move towards signature and ratification. Participants also discussed how governments can strengthen health funding through domestic resource mobilization and measures such as health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks.
IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong opened the session, urging parliamentarians to help move commitments from words into action. He called on the lawmakers to expedite consideration of signature, ratification and implementation, and to back those steps with legislation, budgets and oversight.
He said that health is “a foundation for human dignity, social justice, economic resilience and peace,” adding that parliaments are central to making health a human right. He also underlined that global accords only matter when national legislatures give them practical force.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thanked the IPU for bringing parliamentarians together and said: “Global agreements do not save lives, implementation does.” He stressed that delivery depends on parliamentarians working through laws, budgets and oversight.
The Director-General also praised the long-standing partnership between WHO and the IPU, describing it as a vital bridge between global commitments and national action.
Members of parliament present at the meeting unanimously expressed their support for the finalization of the Pandemic Agreement and pledged to support its implementation in their respective countries.
The Global Parliamentary Forum, now in its second edition, is a formal mechanism and annual platform for parliamentary engagement at the World Health Assembly.
