This year's Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly (WHA78) marked a series of historic milestones, including the landmark adoption of the Pandemic Agreement and a 20% increase in Assessed Contributions (or membership fees) approved by Member States.
To continue the political momentum of these key decisions, another milestone was achieved: the timely inauguration of the WHA Global Parliamentary Dialogue, an annual, dedicated space for parliamentarians to engage directly at the Assembly. Led by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), this platform reflects a strong consensus that parliamentarians are indispensable actors in advancing global health. Through their leadership in legislation, budgetary decisions, oversight, and advocacy, they play a pivotal role in translating global commitments into national action.
"The partnership between the IPU and WHO has been key in recognizing the role that parliaments play in health and in opening a space at the World Health Assembly for bringing together parliamentarians and other stakeholders," said Martin Chungong, the IPU Secretary-General in his opening remarks. "As this World Health Assembly is marking history with the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement, parliaments will be crucial in ratification, domestication and implementation at the national level," he said.
"We are proud of our partnership with the IPU in advancing global health, and proud to be taking an important step by establishing this Parliamentary Dialogue as an annual platform within the WHA calendar," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of WHO, during his opening remarks .
"Your presence sends a powerful message about your commitment to health equity, resilience, and global solidarity. It reflects the growing recognition that global health is not only a technical domain – it is profoundly political," he said, reinforcing the significance of parliamentary engagement in global fora such as the WHA.
Co-chaired by Honourable Christian Lohr, Member of the Swiss Parliament and a member of IPU Committee on Health, and Elisa Scolaro, WHO External Relations Officer for Parliamentary Affairs from Health and Multilateral Partnerships, the event brought together parliamentarians to explore how best to leverage their role to implement WHA78 outcomes successfully.
The Dialogue began with a keynote presentation by Daniel Thornton, Director of the Department of Coordinated Resource Mobilization at WHO, to underscore the importance of sustainable and flexible funding for global health. He emphasized that as budget approvers, parliamentarians play a vital role in ensuring long-term investments in health essential for WHO to carry out its mandate in promoting and protecting Health for All.
Following the landmark adoption of the Pandemic Agreement, Dr Jaouad Mahjour, Head of the WHO Secretariat for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body and International Health Regulations, reiterated in his keynote remarks that the successful implementation of the Agreement now hinges on timely ratification to translate global commitments into concrete national legislations and policies.
During the interactive segment, Honourable Sobita Gautam, Member of the Federal Parliament of Nepal and Member of the IPU Committee on Health, gave a parliamentary perspective on prioritizing investment in health and in supporting the implementation of the Pandemic Agreement.
"We must return to our parliaments with a unified, urgent message: global health financing is not optional – it is essential," she said. "Health must be a strategic priority in national budgets and foreign policy. Investing in strong, equitable health systems is critical – not just for our own citizens, but for global security, economic resilience, and human dignity."
In a call to joint action, Katja Čič, the WHO Youth Council representative, also reminded that youth are not just future leaders but present stakeholders in a high-level dialogue.
"Our presence is more than symbolic. It is a necessary and powerful reminder that the future of health is not something we can plan for youth – it must be built with youth," she said. "Being part of this dialogue with you is a valuable opportunity for intergenerational collaboration. It's a step toward meaningful partnership, where policy meets possibility."
As the dialogue was open to the audience, contributions came from diverse voices, including from Guinea, Iran, Mauritius, Namibia and Senegal, as well as representatives from the WHO Civil Society Commission, the UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the Global Alliance for Sepsis, all of whom expressed strong support for shared responsibility and accountability in driving forward WHA priorities.
"The Pandemic Agreement will only be as strong as the laws and budgets behind it. To build resilient health systems, we must legislate for gender equity, invest in the care economy, and centre the voices of women and young people – not as afterthoughts, but as the foundation of a just and healthy future," highlighted Beth Stinchcombe, the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations (IFMSA) Liaison Officer to the WHO, sharing her reflection on the next steps following the WHA78.
"The role of parliaments should be to provide oversight and track commitments, secondly to speed up discussion on legislation issues that need domestication and finally to allocate financial resources to meet domestic health financing especially universal health coverage enabling systems, which could improve on infant, child and maternal health, SRH, TB, NCDs, as examples," highlighted Honourable Mokhothu Makhalanyane, Chairperson of the Network of African Parliamentary Committees of Health (NEAPACOH).
His comments reflected on the vital role of parliaments in advancing global health priorities."In these difficult times, with sharp cuts to ODA, NEAPACOH welcomes the opportunity to partner with multi-constituency alliances such as PMNCH to ensure that the health and well-being of the most vulnerable and marginalized women, children and adolescents is prioritized in national development plans and is not compromised," he said.
As a co-Chair, the Honorable Christian Lohr emphasized the critical need for sustained and growing parliamentary engagement in global health governance, efforts that will be carried forward through the long-standing partnerships between WHO and the IPU. Reflecting on his role as co-rapporteur of the 2019 IPU resolution on universal health coverage , he noted that lessons from the past continue to reinforce the need for robust legislative leadership, particularly in the context of health emergency preparedness.
"We look forward to continuing this momentum and working together with all of you to ensure even greater participation of parliamentarians in this important forum. Our shared goal must be to make parliamentary engagement the norm, not the exception, in global health decision-making spaces," he said.
Within the current programme of work, WHO and the IPU will implement a series of initiatives to support parliaments in implementing WHA decisions into national action. Member States are also encouraged to deepen their political and financial commitment to WHO by encouraging the inclusion of members of parliaments as part of their national delegations at future Assemblies.
