The Task Force for Global Health participated in the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva from May 19-24. The theme of WHA78 was “One World for Health.” With special designation as a non-State actor in official relations with the WHO, The Task Force joined constituency statements on key WHA agenda items and raised the profile of priority global health issues through two official side events co-hosted with WHO Member States at the Palais des Nations and additional side events on the sidelines of the proceedings. Representatives from The Task Force’s Executive and External Relations teams, Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination, Health Campaign Effectiveness Coalition, International Trachoma Initiative, and Mectizan Donation Program participated in dozens of convenings throughout WHA78. Read on for highlights of Task Force activities throughout the week.
Tuesday, May 20
The Task Force endorsed a constituency statement, delivered Tuesday by the Global Health Council, on WHA78 item 16.2, Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, expressing support for the landmark Pandemic Agreement adopted by WHO Member States to enhance global coordination and cooperation, equity and access during future pandemics.
That evening, The Mectizan Donation Program (MDP) held a side event to celebrate another important milestone, which was reached in 2025: “5 Billion Mectizan Treatments Donated…and Counting.” In 1987, Merck & Co., Inc.* committed to donating Mectizan to control and prevent river blindness; in 1998 the donation was expanded to eliminate lymphatic filariasis. Today, river blindness is also targeted for elimination, which has been achieved in four countries in the Americas and one in Africa. The side event featured remarks by MDP’s director, Dr. Yao Sodahlon, and WHO’s Director of the Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases, Dr. Ibrahima Socé Fall. Dr. Allison Goldberg, President, MSD Foundation, discussed Merck’s ongoing commitment to donate Mectizan “as much as needed, for as long as needed.” These remarks were followed by a panel discussion among ministers of health from Niger and Tanzania, and representatives from WHO AFRO, PAHO, the END Fund, Gates Foundation, and The Carter Center. Panelists noted the significant impact Merck’s donation of Mectizan has had on disease elimination, health systems strengthening, and the emergence of Neglected Tropical Diseases as a global health sector.
The evening ended with a film (see video below) featuring the administration of the 5 billionth treatment during a celebration held in April in Kouvé, Togo.
Wednesday, May 21
The Task Force’s Coalition for Global Hepatitis Elimination convened an official WHA78 side event, Uniting in Global Solidarity for Hepatitis Elimination: Acting to Prevent Liver Cancer in Support of the NCD Agenda, alongside the Permanent Missions of Pakistan and Tanzania to the UN in Geneva, the African Union, WHO, Medicines Patent Pool, and World Hepatitis Alliance.
This event spotlighted the critical role of hepatitis elimination in prevention of liver cancer, the third leading cause of cancer deaths globally. Speakers included Ambassador Bilal Ahmad, Permanent Representative from Pakistan to the United Nations; Ambassador Xu Cheng, Permanent Representative from China to the United Nations; Dr. Mohammed Hassany, Egypt’s Executive Director for the National Committee for Control of Viral Hepatitis; Jhenista Magama, Minister of Health of Tanzania; and Dr. Niti Haetanurak, Deputy Director-General, Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health of Thailand. Participants from sixteen Member States expressed support for including viral hepatitis elimination as a tool for liver cancer prevention in an upcoming Political Declaration on Non-communicable Diseases.
Saturday, May 24
The Republic of Tanzania, The Task Force for Global Health and Helen Keller International convened the official WHA78 side event Neglected Tropical Diseases: Success Under Threat to celebrate success and initiate a dialogue on the future of neglected tropical diseases in a changing and challenging global health context. The event was moderated by Fatoumata Diouf, Regional Director for West Africa, Helen Keller International, and opened with remarks from Dr. Angela Weaver, Vice President, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Helen Keller International, and Dr. Yao Sodahlon, Director of The Task Force’s Mectizan Donation Program. Dr. Weaver set the scene with a history of how the U.S. government supported the fight against NTDs for nearly two decades and what must be done now to fill the gap left by recent funding cuts and ensure that progress continues toward control and elimination. Dr. Sodahlon emphasized that pharmaceutical donors remain committed to donating NTD treatments, an incredible asset—but with shifting donor commitments and new pressures on endemic country health systems, new and innovative solutions are needed to sustain the momentum built to deliver donated treatments to everyone in need and reach global control and elimination targets.
A panel of distinguished health leaders then considered strategic ways forward with a focus on country-driven solutions and innovations in this rapidly evolving environment. The Honorable Dr. Ibrahima Sy, Minister of Health and Social Action of Senegal; Dr. Sultani Hadley Matendechero, Deputy Director General for Health of Kenya; Dr. Adamou Moustapha, Director of Public Health of Niger; Dr. Paul Chaote, Assistant Director General of the Republic of Tanzania; and Dr. Socé Fall, Director of the World Health Organization Department of Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases delivered insightful reflections and lessons learned in the fight against NTDs from their respective contexts.
Dr. Sultani closed the event with a rousing call-to-action and invitation to assembled guests to remain engaged in this important conversation and contribute to the agenda-setting process for an upcoming strategic convening at the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center in Italy aimed at developing a long-term, sustainable strategy for NTD control and elimination.
The Task Force also endorsed a constituency statement, delivered Saturday and led by the Global Health Council and The Save the Children Fund, on WHA78 Agenda item 13.3, Universal health coverage, focused on a resolution on strengthening health financing. The statement called for a focus on resilient, country-led systems; stronger commitments to domestic resource mobilization and public financial management; and the centering of institutions like Africa CDC.
