A new pandemic will inevitably occur sooner or later, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated, Kommersant reported on April 8.

He reportedly raised this issue at the 13th session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, which is preparing an agreement on pandemic prevention.

Mr. Ghebreyesus reminded that during the COVID-19 pandemic, 7 million people officially died worldwide, although WHO estimates the death toll at 20 million.

The head of the UN health agency also noted that the pandemic "destroyed more than $10 trillion in the global economy."

He is convinced that the next pandemic could begin “in 20 years or more, or it could happen tomorrow.”

“But it will happen, and in any case, we must be ready,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Work on the agreement to combat pandemics has been underway since December 2021.  The WHO Director-General urged governments around the world to show commitment to signing the document.

In December 2019, Chinese authorities reported an outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan.

In March 2020, the WHO Director-General declared a COVID-19 pandemic due to the rapid spread of the virus.  The WHO declared the end of the pandemic in May 2023.

In February 2025, a new potentially contagious coronavirus for humans was discovered in China.