In the early hours of Wednesday morning in Geneva, countries finalized a draft global agreement aimed at improving how the world prepares for and responds to pandemics, marking a historic step that will be submitted to the World Health Assembly in May for adoption.

Five years after COVID-19 triggered national lockdowns, economic uncertainty and killed millions, the World Health Organization’s member countries agreed on a draft “pandemic treaty” that sets guidelines for how the international community might confront the next global health crisis.

The World Health Organization finally reached a compromise on a pandemic treaty after three years of talks. The United States withdrew from negotiations after President Trump took office.