The aim is to conclude the negotiations on the pandemic treaty and the IHR amendments so that they could be adopted at the World Health Assembly in May 2024. The World Health Assembly is comprised of all the WHO Member States. As a rule, the World Health Assembly makes its decisions by consensus. This means that all the Member States would have to approve the decision on both the pandemic treaty and the IHR amendments.
However, if the Assembly is unable to reach a decision in either case by consensus, the voting procedure under the WHO Constitution will apply. It is likely that the adoption of the pandemic treaty will require a two-thirds majority of the Members present at the World Health Assembly.
After the World Health Assembly has adopted the pandemic treaty and the amendments to the IHR, each WHO Member State will process and commit to them in accordance with its constitutional processes. The international pandemic treaty will not enter into force until a sufficient number of Member States, as defined in the treaty, have ratified it.