T he Pandemic Agreement, just adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a landmark for global public health. Had such an agreement been in place before 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic would have looked very different.

The United States, traditionally the top donor to the UN health agency, was not part of the final stages of pandemic agreement process after the Trump administration announced a pullout from the WHO.

The World Health Organization's member countries have approved an agreement to better prevent, prepare for and respond to future pandemics in the wake of the devastation wrought by the coronavirus