WHO Urges Parliamentarians to Turn Health Pledges Into Action

This year's forum was held under the theme "From Commitment to Action: Advancing Parliamentary Leadership for the WHO Pandemic Agreement Implementation and Sustainable Financing for Health."

Parliamentarians from around the world gathered during the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly to discuss how national legislatures can play a stronger role in implementing the WHO Pandemic Agreement and securing sustainable financing for healthcare. The meeting focused on translating international commitments into practical policies, laws, and investments that strengthen health systems and improve pandemic preparedness.

Global forum highlights role of parliaments in health reforms

The Global Parliamentary Forum, jointly organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), has now become an annual event within the World Health Assembly. The initiative was introduced under the leadership of WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has consistently highlighted the important role parliamentarians play in advancing public health priorities at the national level. This year's forum was held under the theme "From Commitment to Action: Advancing Parliamentary Leadership for the WHO Pandemic Agreement Implementation and Sustainable Financing for Health."

The discussions were co-chaired by Martin Chungong, Secretary-General of the IPU, and Dr Zeyana Hamid, Vice-Chairperson of the Committee for Health and HIV Affairs in Tanzania's Parliament. Both stressed that parliaments are responsible for turning global agreements into meaningful action through legislation, public policy, government oversight, and budget decisions.

Martin Chungong described sustainable health financing as both a political and moral responsibility, saying investment in healthcare also strengthens national security, economic stability, and long-term development.

Pandemic agreement and health financing take centre stage

Participants received an update on the progress of the WHO Pandemic Agreement from Dr Nedret Emiroglu, who leads the Secretariat for the Intergovernmental Working Group negotiating the agreement. She outlined ongoing negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex and emphasised that national parliaments will play a critical role in supporting the agreement's signature, ratification, and implementation once negotiations are completed.

WHO's Dr Kalipso Chalkidou, Director of the Performance, Financing and Delivery Department, highlighted the need for countries to develop sustainable domestic funding for healthcare. She pointed to health taxes as one practical tool that can both improve public health outcomes and generate additional government revenue to strengthen health systems and pandemic preparedness.

Parliamentarians from Egypt and the Republic of Korea shared their experiences of advancing health legislation, stressing that strong political commitment and reliable domestic funding are essential for building resilient healthcare systems capable of responding to future public health emergencies.

Collaboration seen as key to lasting health progress

The forum also included contributions from civil society organisations, with Save the Children calling for closer cooperation between lawmakers and community organisations to ensure international health commitments produce measurable improvements for people on the ground.

During the closing session, Dr Tedros reminded delegates that international agreements alone cannot protect lives without effective implementation at national level. He said parliaments play a central role because they pass laws, approve budgets, and hold governments accountable for delivering on global commitments.

The event also marked the final World Health Assembly attended by Martin Chungong as IPU Secretary-General. Dr Tedros praised his leadership in strengthening cooperation between WHO and the IPU, helping place global health issues more firmly on parliamentary agendas around the world.

WHO and the IPU confirmed they will continue supporting national parliaments in implementing World Health Assembly decisions and encouraged governments to include parliamentarians in future national delegations to strengthen political commitment to global health priorities.