The WHO’s Pandemic Treaty Shows What Post-American Multilateralism Looks Like
The U.S. Skipped the Pandemic Treaty Talks. China Stepped Up—and the World Moved On.
Over the last two weeks, delegates from 193 out of 194 countries met in Geneva for the World Health Assembly, an annual gathering of health ministers who set the agenda for the World Health Organization. Absent was the United States, which pulled out of the WHO within days of Trump taking office.
But the work continued. The WHO adopted a potentially transformative international agreement on pandemic preparedness and response. And in America’s absence, other countries — notably China — stepped into the void and offered a degree of international leadership that was heretofore unprecedented.
Call it post-American multilateralism: what transpired at the 78th World Health Assembly was a microcosm of what we can expect should the United States continue to sit on the sidelines of major multilateral forums it once championed.
What happened in Geneva wasn’t just about health—it’s a window into what global governance looks like when America walks away.
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