site.btaMinister Kirilov Participates in the 78th World Health Assembly

Health Minister Silvi Kirilov took part in the high-level formats of the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva. During the meeting, the adoption of the draft Pandemic Agreement was discussed and a general debate was held on the topic: "One World for Health", said  the press centre of the line ministry on Wednesday.

On May 19, 2025, Committee A of the World Health Assembly submitted a draft for discussion among the Member States.

Bulgaria made a statement in accordance with the approved position of the Council of Ministers, noting that due to the incompleteness of the negotiation process on the entire package, it retains its sovereign right to assess its actions when all the information is available.

At the request of Slovakia, the adoption of the text of the pandemic agreement was put to a vote. Of the 181 member states with the right to vote, 46 were absent, with 124 voting in support of the project and 11, including Bulgaria, abstaining. Bulgaria explained its vote, highlighting the above arguments. In addition to Bulgaria, 4 more EU member states did not support the agreement and abstained, ​​Italy, the Netherlands, Poland and Slovakia.

At this stage, the agreement will not be opened for signatures. This will happen only after the negotiations on the annex to it are completed. At the current stage, they are planned to start in mid-July 2025 and end in May 2026.

Bulgaria’s interventions on the subject in Committee A can be followed on the Assembly’s website: https://www.who.int/about/governance/world-health-assembly/seventy-eighth.

On 20 May, the report of Committee A on the adoption of a draft resolution on the draft Pandemic Agreement and the next steps for developing the annex thereto was adopted by consensus in the Plenary Hall of the 78th World Health Assembly. The Director-General of the World Health Organization expressed confidence that the concerns of the 11 Member States that abstained would be addressed in the upcoming negotiations.

Minister Kirilov made a statement in the framework of the general debate held in the plenary hall. He highlighted Bulgaria’s membership in the WHO Executive Board as a responsibility to achieve prioritization of activities, effective spending of financial resources and strengthening international cooperation. Given the upcoming negotiations on the Annex to the draft Pandemic Agreement, as well as the preparatory activities for the organization of the work of the Conference of the Parties, he indicated that Bulgaria is not in a position to express unconditional support. It is important that these processes be completed and then the national procedure for accession, signature and ratification be launched in full.

At the same time, the issues of the reform and budget of the World Health Organization were also discussed in Committee A. Bulgaria made a statement on the national position approved by the Council of Ministers, noting that the reform of the WHO should continue in the direction of optimizing human and financial resources, in accordance with the existing financial framework and improving transparency and accountability in the WHO.

As the rotating chairman of the member states of the South-East European Health Network, Bulgaria made a statement in which the achievements of the Bulgarian chairmanship were highlighted, the statement said.