Uhuru among leaders recognised for championing the WHO Pandemic Agreement

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta is among global leaders formally recognised by the World Health Organization (WHO) for their role in advancing the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.

During a special event held on July 10, 2025, at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended the high-level political advocacy that made the agreement possible.

“The adoption by the World Health Assembly of the Pandemic Agreement was a historic moment in global health. But we would not have reached that moment without sustained political advocacy from the highest levels,” he said.

Uhuru joins a distinguished group of former and current heads of state acknowledged for their guidance and commitment to the agreement, which aims to strengthen international cooperation in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

The event saw plaques awarded to representatives of Chile and Tunisia, whose leaders, former President Sebastián Piñera and President Kais Saied, were early advocates of the agreement.

Kenya was recognised alongside 24 other countries, including France, Germany, Indonesia, Rwanda, Senegal, the United Kingdom, and the Republic of Korea.

Others were Albania, Costa Rica, Croatia, Fiji, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Ukraine, and Northern Ireland.

The WHO Pandemic Agreement outlines a commitment to a more robust international health architecture that is grounded in equity, cooperation, and shared responsibility.

It builds on momentum created in 2021, when a joint commentary by 25 world leaders called for a global pandemic treaty.

Work has already begun to operationalise key elements of the agreement, including access to pathogens and equitable benefit sharing, through a newly convened intergovernmental working group.