Global commitment on display as countries negotiate key annex to the Pandemic Agreement
Geneva, 17 February 2026 -- Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded a weeklong round of negotiations on draft annex for Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) – a key component of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
The fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement (IGWG) – set up by the World Health Assembly (WHA) last year to negotiate the PABS annex – wrapped up over the weekend after productive discussions from 9–14 February 2026.
To ensure the world can respond swiftly and effectively to future pandemics, countries must be able to rapidly detect pathogens with pandemic potential and share their genetic sequence information and materials. This timely action enables scientists to accelerate the development of essential tools such as diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines.
The PABS system is designed to promote equitable access based on public health need by facilitating the rapid and timely sharing of pathogen materials and genetic sequence data, and on an equal footing, the rapid, timely, fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from these.
“Countries this week have again shown their steadfast commitment to getting the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex done,” said IGWG Bureau co‑chair Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes, of Brazil. “We now have a clear vision for streamlining the text, while ensuring that the more contentious elements receive the necessary consultation.”
Member States will resume negotiations again next month as they advance towards the May deadline, when the outcome of their work will be presented to the WHA.
“As we conclude the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group, I want to thank delegations for their serious and constructive engagement. It is clear that important differences remain, but there is a shared recognition of what is at stake,” said IGWG Bureau co-chair Mr Matthew Harpur, of the United Kingdom. “With time running short, the coming weeks will be critical in bridging the remaining gaps and delivering a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex that is fair, effective, and fit for purpose.”
The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted by Member States last year to correct global weaknesses exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthen international coordination and collaboration. A legally binding international instrument, it is designed to make the world safer and more equitable in the face of future pandemics.
“Adopting the Pandemic Agreement last year was a huge testament to global cooperation, and we need to build on that momentum. Strong multilateralism remains essential as countries have to face future pandemics together, collectively,” said WHO Director‑General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Recognizing the steady progress being made, I am confident that they will reach an agreement on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex in time for the World Health Assembly in May this year.”
Alongside negotiations on the annex text and dialogues aimed at building consensus, Member States also engaged with relevant stakeholders, including representatives from the private sector, academia, laboratories and sequence information databases.
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27 January 2026 - Healthy food in schools can help children develop healthy dietary habits for life, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which released a new global guideline on evidence-based policies and interventions to create healthy school food environments. For the first time, WHO is advising countries to adopt a whole-school approach that ensures food and beverages provided in schools and available throughout the broader school food environments are healthy and nutritious.
Childhood overweight and obesity are rising globally, while undernutrition remains a persistent challenge. Schools are on the front line of this double burden of malnutrition. In 2025, about 1 in 10 school-aged children and adolescents – 188 million – were living with obesity worldwide, surpassing for the first time the number of children who are underweight.
“The food children eat at school, and the environments that shape what they eat, can have a profound impact on their learning, and lifelong consequences for their health and well-being,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Getting nutrition right at school is critical for preventing disease later in life and creating healthier adults.”
Healthy dietary practices begin early in life. Children spend a significant portion of their day in school, making it a critical setting for shaping lifelong dietary habits and reducing health and nutrition inequities.
Today, an estimated 466 million children receive school meals globally, yet there remains limited information available about the nutritional quality of the food they are served.
In the guideline, WHO recommends that schools improve food provision at schools to promote greater consumption of foods and beverages that support a healthy diet. Specifically:
Policies alone are not enough, and monitoring and enforcement mechanisms are essential to ensure that guidelines are implemented effectively and consistently in schools. According to the WHO Global database on the Implementation of Food and Nutrition Action (GIFNA), as of October 2025, 104 Member States had policies on healthy school food, with almost three quarters including mandatory criteria to guide the composition of school food. However, only 48 countries had policies that restrict the marketing of foods high in sugar, salt or unhealthy fats.
WHO convened a diverse, multidisciplinary group of international experts to develop this guideline through a rigorous, transparent, and evidence-based process. This work forms a cornerstone of WHO’s broader mission to create healthy food environments, and is implemented as part of global initiatives such as WHO acceleration plan to stop obesity and the nutrition-friendly schools initiative.
The guideline is designed to support action at both local and national levels, recognizing that subnational and city authorities play a key role in advancing and implementing school food initiatives.
WHO will support Member States to adapt and implement the guideline through technical assistance, knowledge-sharing and collaborations. To mark the launch, WHO is hosting a global webinar on 27 January 2026 (13:00–14:00 CET).
WHO urges governments to unlock health taxes on sugary drinks and alcohol to save lives and raise revenue
Geneva, 13 January 2026 - Sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages are getting cheaper, due to consistently low tax rates in most countries, fueling obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancers and injuries, especially in children and young adults.
In two new global reports released today, the World Health Organization is calling on governments to significantly strengthen taxes on sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages. The reports warn that weak tax systems are allowing harmful products to remain cheap while health systems face mounting financial pressure from preventable noncommunicable diseases and injuries.
“Health taxes are one of the strongest tools we have for promoting health and preventing disease," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "By increasing taxes on products like tobacco, sugary drinks, and alcohol, governments can reduce harmful consumption and unlock funds for vital health services.”
The combined global market for sugary drinks and alcoholic beverages generates billions of dollars in profit, fueling widespread consumption and corporate profit. Yet governments capture only a relatively small share of this value through health-motivated taxes, leaving societies to bear the long-term health and economic costs.
The reports show that at least 116 countries tax sugary drinks, many of which are sodas. But many other high-sugar products, such as 100% fruit juices, sweetened milk drinks, and ready-to-drink coffees and teas, escape taxation. While 97% of countries tax energy drinks, this figure has not changed since the last global report in 2023.
A separate WHO report shows that at least 167 countries levy taxes on alcoholic beverages, while 12 ban alcohol entirely. Despite this, alcohol has become more affordable or remained unchanged in price in most countries since 2022, as taxes fail to keep pace with inflation and income growth. Wine remains untaxed in at least 25 countries, mostly in Europe, despite clear health risks.
“More affordable alcohol drives violence, injuries and disease,” highlighted Dr Etienne Krug, Director of WHO’s Department of Health Determinants, Promotion and Prevention. While industry profits, the public often carries the health consequences and society the economic costs.”
WHO found that across regions:
These trends in tax persist despite a 2022 Gallup Poll finding that the majority of people surveyed supported higher taxes on alcohol and sugary beverages. WHO is calling on countries to raise and redesign taxes as part of its new 3 by 35 initiative, which aims to increase the real prices of three products, tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks by 2035, making them less affordable over time to help protect people's health.
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9 January 2026, Geneva, Cairo, Port Sudan – Today, the conflict in Sudan reaches its 1000th day, with over 20 million people requiring health assistance and 21 million desperately needing food.
Nearly three years of continuous violence, severe access constraints, and reduced funding have turned Sudan into the worst humanitarian crisis globally. An estimated 33.7 million people will need humanitarian aid this year.
The health system has been severely damaged by ongoing fighting, increasingly deadly attacks on health care, mass displacement, lack of essential medical supplies, and shortages of health personnel and funding. Despite sustained efforts by WHO and partners to restore and revive health services across the country, more than one third of health facilities (37%) remain non-functional, depriving millions of people of essential and lifesaving health services.
Since the start of the conflict in April 2023, WHO has verified 201 attacks on health care, resulting in 1858 deaths and 490 injuries. These attacks, which violate international humanitarian law, undermine access to lifesaving care and put health care workers, patients and caregivers at grave risk.
“One thousand days of conflict in Sudan have driven the health system to the brink of collapse. Under the strain of disease, hunger and a lack of access to basic services, people face a devastating situation,” said WHO Representative in Sudan, Dr Shible Sahbani. “WHO is doing what we can, where we can, and we know we are saving lives and rebuilding the health system. Despite the challenges, we are also working on recovery of the health system.”
The level of displacement is unprecedented. An estimated 13.6 million people are currently displaced, making Sudan the largest displacement crisis in the world. Fueled by poor living conditions, overcrowding in displacement sites, disrupted health and water, sanitation and hygiene services, and a breakdown of routine immunization, disease outbreaks are spreading, compounding the crisis. WHO is currently supporting the response to outbreaks of cholera, dengue, malaria, and measles, with cholera being reported from all 18 states, dengue from 14 states, and malaria from 16 states. Access to preventive and curative care, including for the management of chronic conditions and severe malnutrition, remains limited.
WHO works with Sudan’s Federal and State Ministries of Health and partners to improve access to critical health services across Sudan and rehabilitate the health system. Since the start of the conflict in April 2023, WHO has delivered 3378 metric tons of medicines and medical supplies worth about US$ 40 million, including diagnostic supplies, treatments for malnutrition, and diseases such as cholera, malaria, dengue, and emergency surgery, to 48 health partners for lifesaving operations. About 24 million people have received cholera vaccinations, and WHO has supported the country to introduce and scale up malaria vaccines. Additionally, more than 3.3 million people have accessed health care at WHO-supported hospitals, primary health care facilities, and temporary mobile clinics. More than 112 400 children with severe acute malnutrition with medical complications have received treatment at functional stabilization centres, all of which receive lifesaving WHO nutrition supplies. State and National public health laboratories have been equipped and strengthened to confirm disease outbreaks and enable a rapid response.
“As the relentless conflict renders some areas inaccessible, particularly in the Darfur and Kordofan regions, the population’s health needs continue to increase,” Dr Sahbani said. “To meet these mounting needs and prevent the crisis from spiraling out of hand, WHO and humanitarian partners require safe and unimpeded access to all areas of Sudan, and increased financial resources.”
Ultimately, WHO calls parties to the conflict to urgently work towards a ceasefire and peace for the people of Sudan.
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4 December 2025 – Wider use of new tools against malaria, including dual-ingredient nets and WHO-recommended vaccines helped to prevent an estimated 170 million cases and 1 million deaths in 2024, according to WHO's annual World malaria report.
WHO-recommended tools are increasingly being integrated into broader health systems. Since WHO approved the world's first malaria vaccines in 2021, 24 countries have introduced the vaccines into their routine immunization programmes. Seasonal malaria chemoprevention has also been expanded and is now being implemented in 20 countries, reaching 54 million children in 2024, an increase from about 0.2 million in 2012.
Progress is also being made in eliminating malaria. To date, a total of 47 countries and 1 territory have been certified malaria-free by WHO – Cabo Verde and Egypt were certified malaria-free in 2024, and Georgia, Suriname, and Timor-Leste joined them in 2025. Despite this significant progress, there were an estimated 282 million malaria cases and 610 000 deaths in 2024 – roughly 9 million more cases than the previous year.
An estimated 95% of these deaths were in the WHO African Region, with most occurring among children under 5. The report shows that antimalarial drug resistance is growing and stands in the way of achieving malaria elimination.
"New tools for prevention of malaria are giving us new hope, but we still face significant challenges," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "Increasing numbers of cases and deaths, the growing threat of drug resistance and the impact of funding cuts all threaten to roll back the progress we have made over the past two decades. However, none of these challenges is insurmountable. With the leadership of the most-affected countries and targeted investment, the vision of a malaria-free world remains achievable."
The World malaria report spotlights evidence on partial resistance to artemisinin derivatives, which became the backbone of malaria treatments after failures of chloroquine and sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine. Antimalarial drug resistance has now been confirmed or suspected in at least 8 countries in Africa, and there are potential signs of declining efficacy of the drugs that are combined with artemisinin.
Progress in reducing the malaria deaths – a key target of the Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030 – remains far off track. In 2024, there were 610 000 deaths. This corresponds to 13.8 malaria deaths per 100 000 population, more than 3 times the global target of 4.5 deaths per 100 000.
Complex challenges to progress
This year’s report underscores a growing array of risks to malaria elimination efforts in addition to the threat of antimalarial drug resistance.
Malaria parasites with pfhrp2 gene deletions remain prevalent, undermining the reliability of rapid diagnostic tests, while confirmed pyrethroid resistance in 48 countries is reducing the effectiveness of insecticide-treated nets. At the same time, Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes – resistant to many commonly used insecticides – have now invaded 9 African countries, posing a serious challenge to urban malaria control efforts.
Beyond biological threats, extreme weather events are also contributing to increased outbreaks of malaria. Changes in temperature and rainfall are altering habitats for mosquitoes and thus transmission patterns.
Conflict and instability in affected regions are also leading to widespread disruptions of health services, limiting access to care and delaying timely diagnosis and treatment.
The challenge is further exacerbated by the plateauing of global funding over the last decade limiting the reach of life-saving interventions. In 2024, US$3.9 billion was invested in the malaria response, yet it reached less than half of the 2025 funding target of US$9.3 billion set by the Global technical strategy.
Recent reductions in Official Development Assistance (ODA) have severely disrupted health systems, weakening routine surveillance and forcing the cancellation or postponement of most planned malaria surveys. These cuts have also heightened the risk of stock-outs and delays in malaria interventions campaigns, undermining programme impact.
Country led, partner enabled response
“The World Malaria Report is clear: drug resistance is advancing. Our response must be equally clear — new medicines with new mechanisms of action,” said Dr Martin Fitchet CEO of Medicines for Malaria Venture. “The development of the first non-artemisinin combination therapy, Ganaplacide–Lumefantrine, is proof that this is possible, and it represents the beginning of a new chapter in malaria resilience. Together with a global partnership of expertise, commitment and funding, we can stay ahead of resistance and deliver new medicines to ensure malaria is no longer a threat.”
Political commitments need to be translated into resources and actions with sustainable and equitable impact. WHO urges malaria-endemic countries to maintain their political commitments to ending malaria deaths as outlined in the Yaoundé Declaration. Unity and action under the Big Push initiative will help global malaria community mitigate current and future threats to achieve a malaria-free future.
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1 December 2025 - On World AIDS Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls on governments and partners to rapidly expand access to new WHO-approved tools including lenacapavir (LEN) to drive down infections and counter disruption to essential health services caused by cuts to foreign aid.
Despite dramatic funding setbacks, the global HIV response has gained a remarkable momentum in 2025 with the introduction and WHO approval of twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir for HIV prevention. LEN, a highly effective, long-acting alternative to oral pills and other options, is a transformative intervention for people who face challenges with regular adherence and stigma in accessing health care. WHO released in July this year new guidelines recommending the use of lenacapavir as an additional pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) option for HIV prevention.
Sharp and sudden reductions in international funding this year led to disruptions in HIV prevention, treatment and testing services, with essential community-led programmes, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and harm reduction initiatives for people who inject drugs, being scaled back or shut down entirely in some countries.
“We face significant challenges, with cuts to international funding, and prevention stalling," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “At the same time, we have significant opportunities, with exciting new tools with the potential to change the trajectory of the HIV epidemic. Expanding access to those tools for people at risk of HIV everywhere must be priority number one for all governments and partners.”
Marking World AIDS Day under the theme “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response”, WHO is urging a dual track approach – solidarity and investment in innovations to protect and empower communities most at risk.
After decades of progress, the HIV response stands at a crossroads. In 2024:
While the full scale of the impact of foreign aid cuts is still being assessed, access to PrEP is believed to have declined dramatically. The AIDS Vaccine Advocacy Coalition estimates that, as of October 2025, 2.5 million people who used PrEP in 2024 lost access to their medications in 2025 due solely to donor funding cuts. Such disruptions could have far-reaching consequences for the global HIV response, jeopardizing efforts to end AIDS by 2030.
“We are entering a new era of powerful innovations in HIV prevention and treatment,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Department for HIV, TB, Hepatitis and STIs. “By pairing these advances with decisive action, supporting communities, and removing structural barriers, we can ensure that key and vulnerable populations have full access to life-saving services.”
WHO prequalified LEN for HIV prevention on 6 October 2025, followed by national regulatory approvals that will increase access in South Africa (on 27 October), Zimbabwe (27 November) and Zambia (4 November). WHO’s Collaborative Registration Procedure (CRP) supported these approvals. WHO is also working closely with partners such as CIFF, the Gates Foundation, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and Unitaid to enable affordable access to LEN in countries. Ensuring that long-acting HIV medicines for prevention and treatment reach priority populations must be a global priority.
WHO emphasizes that ending the AIDS epidemic depends on a fully integrated, evidence-based and rights-driven approach under the umbrella of primary health care. WHO will continue working with partners and leaders to put those most affected at the centre of the HIV response. Despite funding setbacks, the resilience and leadership of communities offer a clear path forward. By strengthening health systems, increasing domestic investment, and protecting human rights, countries can safeguard gains and ensure no one is left behind.
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Global immunization efforts have led to an 88% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO). Nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine since 2000.
However, an estimated 95 000 people, mostly children younger than 5 years of age, died due to measles in 2024. While this is among the lowest annual tolls recorded since 2000, every death from a disease that could be prevented with a highly effective and low-cost vaccine is unacceptable.
Despite fewer deaths, measles cases are surging worldwide, with an estimated 11 million infections in 2024 – nearly 800 000 more than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.
“Measles is the world's most contagious virus, and these data show once again how it will exploit any gap in our collective defences against it,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Measles does not respect borders, but when every child in every community is vaccinated against it, costly outbreaks can be avoided, lives can be saved, and this disease can be eliminated from entire nations.”
Measles cases in 2024 increased by 86% in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region, 47% in the European Region, and 42% in South-East Asian Region compared with 2019. Notably, the African Region experienced a 40% decline in cases and 50% decline in deaths over this period, partly due to increasing immunization coverage.
While recent measles surges are occurring in countries and regions where children are less likely to die due to better nutrition and access to health care, those infected remain at risk of serious, lifelong complications such as blindness, pneumonia, and encephalitis (an infection causing brain swelling and potentially brain damage).
In 2024, an estimated 84% of children received their first dose of the measles vaccine, and only 76% received the second, according to WHO/UNICEF estimates. This is a slight improvement from the previous year, with 2 million more children immunized. According to WHO guidance, at least 95% coverage with two measles vaccine doses is required to stop transmission and protect communities from outbreaks.
More than 30 million children remained under-protected against measles in 2024. Three-quarters of them live in the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions, often in fragile, conflict-affected or vulnerable settings.
The Immunization Agenda 2030 (IA2030) Mid-Term Review, also released today, stresses that measles is often the first disease to resurge when vaccination coverage drops. Growing measles outbreaks are exposing weaknesses in immunization programmes and health systems globally, and threatening progress towards IA2030 targets, including measles elimination.
In 2024, 59 countries reported large or disruptive measles outbreaks – nearly triple the number reported in 2021 and the highest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. All regions except the Americas had at least one country experiencing a large outbreak in 2024. The situation changed in 2025 with numerous countries in the Americas battling outbreaks.
Efforts to scale up measles surveillance have improved WHO and countries' abilities to identify and respond to outbreaks, and for some countries to achieve elimination. In 2024, more than 760 laboratories participating in the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network (GMRLN) tested over 500 000 samples, an increase of 27% from the previous year.
However, deep funding cuts affecting GMRLN and country immunization programmes are feared to widen immunity gaps and drive further outbreaks in the coming year. Securing sustainable domestic financing and new partners is now a critical challenge to advancing efforts toward a world free of measles.
The world’s elimination goal, as laid out in IA2030, remains a distant one. By the end of 2024, 81 countries (42%) had eliminated measles, only three additional countries since before the pandemic.
Additional progress has been made in 2025 with Pacific island countries and areas verified in September 2025, and Cabo Verde, Mauritius and Seychelles verified this month, becoming the first countries in the WHO African Region to be verified for measles elimination. This brings the total number of countries that have eliminated measles to 96.
The Region of the Americas regained measles elimination status in 2024 for the second time – the only region to ever be verified – but it lost the status again in November 2025 due to ongoing transmission in Canada.
Measles has resurged in recent years, even in high-income countries that once eliminated it, because immunization rates have dropped below the 95% threshold. Even when overall coverage is high nationally, pockets of unvaccinated communities with lower coverage rates can leave people at risk and result in outbreaks and ongoing transmission.
To achieve measles elimination, strong political commitment and sustained investment is needed to ensure all children receive two doses of the measles vaccine and surveillance systems can rapidly detect outbreaks. The IA2030 Mid-Term Review calls on countries and partners to strengthen routine immunization, surveillance and rapid outbreak response capabilities, and to deliver high-quality, high-coverage campaigns when routine immunization is not yet sufficient to protect every child.
Note to editors
WHO uses statistical modelling to estimate measles cases and deaths each year, based on cases reported by countries, and revises the previous year's estimates to assess disease trends over time.
WHO is a founding member of the Measles & Rubella Partnership (M&RP), a global initiative to stop measles and rubella. Under the umbrella of Immunization Agenda 2030 and guided by the Measles and Rubella Strategic Framework 2030, M&RP’s mission includes addressing the decline in national vaccination coverage, hastening the recovery of the measles backsliding resulting from COVID-19 pandemic, and accelerating progress towards creating a world free of measles and rubella. The partnership also includes American Red Cross, the Gates Foundation, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United Nations Foundation, and UNICEF.
Measles elimination is defined as the absence of endemic measles virus transmission in a region or other defined geographical area for more than 12 months. Conversely, a country is no longer considered to be measles free if the virus returns, and transmission is sustained continuously for more than a year.
The Immunization Agenda 2030 global monitoring framework defines large or disruptive outbreaks as having ≥20 cases per one million population in a 12-month period.
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Geneva, 28 November -- The World Health Organization (WHO) today called on countries to make fertility care safer, fairer and more affordable for all in its first-ever global guideline for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infertility.
Infertility is estimated to affect 1 in 6 people of reproductive age at some point in their lives. While demand for services is rising worldwide, access to care remains severely limited. In many countries, tests and treatments for infertility are largely funded out-of-pocket – often resulting in catastrophic financial expenditures. In some settings, even a single round of in vitro fertilization (IVF) can cost double the average annual household income.
“Infertility is one of the most overlooked public health challenges of our time and a major equity issue globally,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Millions face this journey alone — priced out of care, pushed toward cheaper but unproven treatments, or forced to choose between their hopes of having children and their financial security. We encourage more countries to adapt this guideline, giving more people the possibility to access affordable, respectful, and science-based care.”
The guideline includes 40 recommendations that seek to strengthen the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infertility. It promotes cost-effective options at every stage, while advocating for the integration of fertility care into national health strategies, services and financing.
People-centered, evidence-based care
Infertility, defined by the failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse, can cause significant distress, stigma, and financial hardship, affecting people’s mental and psychosocial well-being.
The guideline provides guidance on steps for the effective clinical management of infertility. It also calls for increased investment in prevention, including information on fertility and infertility, factors such as age, in schools, primary health care and reproductive health facilities.
It stresses the need to tackle leading risk factors for infertility, including untreated sexually transmitted infections and tobacco use. Lifestyle interventions—such as healthy diet, physical activity, and tobacco cessation—are recommended for individuals and couples planning or attempting pregnancy. Informing people about fertility and infertility early can assist them in making reproductive plans.
The guideline outlines clinical pathways to diagnose common biological causes of male and female infertility. Considering the findings from clinical tests as well as patient preferences, it provides guidance on how to progressively advance treatment options from simpler management strategies – where clinicians first provide advice on fertile periods and fertility promotion without active treatment – to more complex treatment courses such as intrauterine insemination or IVF.
Recognizing the emotional toll of infertility, which can lead to depression, anxiety and feelings of social isolation, the guideline emphasizes the need to ensure ongoing access to psychosocial support for all those affected.
Fertility in a changing world
WHO is encouraging countries to adapt the recommendations to their local contexts and to monitor progress. Successful implementation will require collaboration across Ministries of Health, health professional societies, civil society, and patient groups.
Implementation should also align with comprehensive, rights-based approaches to sexual and reproductive health – including fertility care – that empower people throughout their lives to make informed, individual decisions about whether and when to have children.
“The prevention and treatment of infertility must be grounded in gender equality and reproductive rights,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing and the United Nations’ Special Programme on Human Reproduction (HRP). “Empowering people to make informed choices about their reproductive lives is a health imperative and a matter of social justice.”
While comprehensive, the guideline acknowledges current gaps in evidence as well as areas for future research and additional recommendations. Upcoming editions of the guideline are expected to cover issues such as fertility preservation, third-party reproduction, and the impact of pre-existing medical conditions.
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26 November 2025 - Geneva -- The Fourth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade of Tobacco Products has concluded with a series of decisions to strengthen measures on international cooperation.
The Protocol was developed in response to the global issue of illegal trade in tobacco products. Independent estimates suggest that illicit trade accounts for some 11% of the global tobacco market, and that its elimination could bolster global tax revenues by around US$ 47.4 billion annually.
Representatives from 60 Parties participated in the deliberations on 24–26 November in Geneva. Topics included measures to strengthen the implementation of international cooperation in combating illicit trade, mechanisms of assistance and mobilization of financial resources to support implementation of the Protocol, licensing, and measures to control the supply chain of tobacco products.
“The Protocol is more than a treaty – it is a framework for coordinated action that equips Parties with tools to slam the door on illicit trade,” said Andrew Black, Acting Head of the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
“Illicit trade in tobacco products is not a victimless crime. It robs governments of vital resources, undermines public health, and erodes the foundations of sustainable development. It fuels corruption, money laundering and organized crime. we cannot allow those who profit from illicit trade in tobacco to escape justice.”
“We are thankful to all the Parties for their cooperation and collaboration during the MOP negotiations.”
Parties adopted a decision that calls on the Convention Secretariat to undertake, in coordination with the World Customs Organization and the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, an exercise to map existing data on seizures of tobacco, tobacco products and manufacturing equipment. This will be used to inform decision-making on tackling illicit trade.
Parties agreed to set up a working group on evidence-based research, and to promote exchange of experiences of control measures, best practices, related case studies, technology and capacity building.
A second working group was established to identify good practice, and to prepare a report on effective mechanisms for strengthening assistance and cooperation on investigation and prosecution of offences.
A decision was also adopted inviting Parties to intensify efforts to monitor and collect licence fees; these may be levied and used to support the effective administration and enforcement of the licensing system, or for public health or other related activities. Parties were also urged to cooperate with each other and through competent international and regional organizations to provide training, technical assistance and cooperation in implementation of licensing-related measures.
Finally, it was announced that Vanuatu is the latest country to join the Protocol, becoming its 71st Party.
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Geneva, 17 November 2025 --More than 1400 delegates gathered here today to begin deliberations on accelerated action on tobacco control at the opening of the Eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
The opening day was capped by a high-level strategic dialogue reviewing two decades of progress under the Convention, also known as the WHO FCTC, the first treaty negotiated under the auspices of the World Health Organization (WHO), and one of the most widely and rapidly embraced treaties in United Nations history.
The delegates from government, international organizations and civil society – representing 162 Parties to the WHO FCTC – began discussions on a wide range of measures to stem tobacco use, which kills more than 7 million people annually, and to protect the environment from the harms caused by tobacco production, use and waste.
"COP11 provides an opportunity for Parties to consider important issues including forward-looking tobacco control measures, environmental protection, liability and measures to prevent and reduce tobacco consumption, nicotine addiction and exposure to tobacco smoke," said Andrew Black, Acting Head of the Secretariat of the WHO FCTC.
"The Secretariat of the WHO FCTC welcomes all Parties and observers to COP11 to promote international cooperation and move ahead with global action to address the global tobacco epidemic," he added.
In addition to the strategic dialogue that reviewed progress on tobacco control in the 20 years since the WHO FCTC entered into force, a ministerial round table organised by the Government of Belgium addressed the pressing issue of nicotine addiction among young people and how to prevent it amid the wide availability and marketing of e-cigarettes and other novel tobacco and nicotine products. Discussions at the round table focused on national approaches and lessons learned and the potential role of the WHO FCTC in tackling the issue.
The first day also included the launch of the 2025 Global Progress Report on Implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a biennial report issued by the Convention Secretariat based on the analysis of the reports submitted by the Parties on their implementation of the Convention, including their achievements and the challenges they face in their implementation work.
The most frequently cited constraints and barriers faced by reporting Parties were the lack of staff and human resources, insufficient financial resources and interference by the tobacco industry and its allies.
COP11, organized around the theme of “20 years of change – uniting generations for a tobacco-free future”, will consider a wide range of matters that will affect future implementation of the WHO FCTC by its Parties and the work of the Convention Secretariat. These include:
COP11 will be followed by the Fourth Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products on 24–26 November.
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