Ebola outbreak underscores urgent need to finish pandemic treaty, WHO chief says

As the ninth meeting to finalise the pandemic treaty opened in Geneva, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged countries to “finish the job.” He pointed to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has killed nearly 5,000 people among more than 10,000 infected, and a hantavirus outbreak that killed three people. Adopted in May 2025, the agreement leaves unresolved the mechanism for sharing pathogens with pandemic potential and related benefits, including vaccines, tests and treatments. Tedros warned that unequal access to vaccines during the Covid-19 pandemic cost lives and prolonged the crisis.