WHO chief 'not worried' about US bilateral deals affecting pandemic treaty

He is hopeful the treaty’s annex will be cleared next year

Director-General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks during the Global Fund's Eighth Replenishment Summit, a fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nov 21, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman

The World Health Organization chief said on Thursday that he was hopeful an annex to a pandemic treaty would be adopted next year, saying that he did not see bilateral negotiations between the United States and African states as a threat.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters at a press briefing in Geneva he was "hopeful" that a deal on an annex covering the sharing of pathogenic information could be finalised before a major WHO summit in May 2026.

"Bilateral agreements are no problem to be honest. It doesn't affect (the annex) and I'm not worried," he told the ACANU press briefing.

The US signed a new five-year agreement with Kenya earlier this month under an 'America First' global health plan.

Health experts have voiced concerns that such deals would bypass the WHO and even derail the ongoing negotiations.

At the same press briefing, Tedros voiced concerns that deep cuts to donors' foreign spending on health would soon hit childhood mortality.

"Early estimates are indicating that childhood mortality could increase for the first time this century," he said, without giving a projection.

But he voiced optimism about the UN health agency's financial future, saying he was confident that a $1 billion budget cut could be filled. “Our standing is very good," he said.