Malaysia, WHO aim to finalise pandemic agreement by May 2027, says Dzulkefly

Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad Dzulkefly said this was among the key issues he discussed with WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a courtesy call on the sidelines of the 77th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific (WPRO), held in Manila, from Oct 19 to 22. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

First Published: Tuesday, 20 Oct 2026 3:00 PM MYT

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 20 — Malaysia and the World Health Organization (WHO) have renewed their joint commitment to finalise the landmark WHO Pandemic Agreement by May 2027, said Health Minister Datuk Seri Dzulkefly Ahmad.

He said Malaysia is emphasising the need to strike a balance between intellectual property rights protection and equitable access to medical countermeasures during health emergencies.

Dzulkefly said this was among the key issues he discussed with WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a courtesy call on the sidelines of the 77th session of the WHO Regional Committee for the Western Pacific (WPRO), held in Manila, from Oct 19 to 22.

“WHO also expressed strong confidence in Malaysia by inviting the country to play a strategic leadership role in the Western Pacific region, working alongside regional countries to build global consensus on emergency preparedness,” he said in a Facebook post today.

During the meeting, he said Malaysia also reiterated its firm commitment to supporting sustainable financing for WHO.

“Meanwhile, Dr Tedros’ appreciation of the progress made in Malaysia’s ongoing primary healthcare (PHC) transformation efforts was a great source of encouragement for Ministry of Health (MOH) personnel,” he added. — Bernama