United Nations, May 21 (Reporter) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday welcomed the adoption of the global pandemic agreement at the World Health Organization (WHO). Guterres believes that the historic pandemic agreement strengthens global preparedness against pandemics, ensures equity and solidarity in response to health threats and upholds health as a fundamental human right, said his spokesman Stephane Dujarric. The landmark decision by the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) culminates more than three years of intensive intergovernmental negotiations in response to the devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, said the spokesman. "The secretary-general pointed out that COVID-19 was a reminder that no one is safe until everyone is safe." There is no other way but through multilateral cooperation to deal with the global health threats that humanity is facing today, said the spokesman. The WHA, the WHO's highest decision-making body, adopted the global pandemic agreement in Geneva on Tuesday. The agreement proposes the establishment of a series of new platforms and mechanisms aimed at comprehensively reforming the existing systems for pandemic surveillance, prevention, and response. It seeks to promote research and equitable sharing of pandemic-related products, adjust the production and distribution order of such products, and further improve the global public health governance system, with a particular focus on addressing fairness challenges in international health development. In November 2021, a special session of the WHA established an intergovernmental negotiating body tasked with drafting a pandemic agreement to enhance global capacities for pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response. In April this year, the WHO announced that, following more than three years of intensive negotiations, member states had reached a consensus on the draft text of the agreement, which was then submitted at the 78th session...////...