British News Agency

Ghebreyesus said that 2025 represented a turning point for global health and the WHO, highlighting both significant successes and serious difficulties.

He noted that the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement demonstrated effective multilateral cooperation, while aid cuts threaten to reverse decades of progress and could, for the first time this century, lead to an increase in child mortality.

Ghebreyesus added that amid these challenges there is an opportunity to strengthen countries’ self-reliance and enhance the WHO’s independence, saying: “The world still needs the WHO, and the WHO remains committed to the vision that health is a right for everyone, not a privilege for some.”