The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for speedily launching global negotiations to agree on an international treaty on pandemic preparedness, as part of sweeping reforms envisioned by member states.

WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told its annual ministerial assembly on Monday that the United Nations health agency faced a “serious challenge” to maintain its COVID-19 response at the current level and required sustainable and flexible funding.

"This is an idea whose time has come," said Ghebreyesus, in his closing remarks at the WHO's 74th World Health Assembly (WHA), which took placee online from May 24 to Tuesday. Ghebreyesus said that the defining characteristic of the pandemic is the lack of sharing: of data, information, pathogens, technologies and resources.

"A treaty would foster improved sharing, trust and accountability, and provide the solid foundation on which to build other mechanisms for global health security. "Pandemics are a threat to all of us. So we must work together to build a healthier, safer, fairer future -- for all of us," he said.

"At present, pathogens have greater power than WHO. They are emerging more frequently in a planet out of balance. They exploit our interconnectedness and expose our inequities and divisions" he noted.

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