From eliminating deadly infections to expanding access to lifesaving vaccines, 2025 delivered meaningful progress for global health, according to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), offering cautious optimism at the close of a year marked by both breakthroughs and strain.
The 78th World Health Assembly concluded Tuesday in Geneva, marking several major milestones in global health. Delegates adopted the worlds first pandemic agreement and approved a significant boost in core funding for the World Health Organization (WHO).
For the first time, mental health is the focus of anofficial meetingof the General Assembly on Thursday, with world leaders expected to agree on a set of principles designed to drive global action to help alleviate the symptoms of those living with a complex variety of disorders.
Even as funding cuts, conflict and climate shocks strained health systems worldwide disrupting essential services in many countries governments and partners still recorded notable gains in disease control, prevention and preparedness.
The UN health agencysaysthe mixed picture of progress and pressure in2025 underscores both what is possible through evidence-based cooperation and what is at risk if momentum and financing are not sustained.
Victories for disease control
Several countries reached historic milestones in eliminating infectious diseases.
Maldives became the first country to achievetriple elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B, while Brazil eliminated mother-to-child transmission of HIV, making it the most populous country in the Americas to reach that goal.
Progress was also recorded against neglected tropical diseases. Burundi, Egypt and Fiji eliminated trachoma; Guinea and Kenya eliminated sleeping sickness; and Niger became the first African country to eliminate river blindness. Since 2010, the number of people needing treatment for a neglected tropical disease has fallen by nearly one-third.
Deaths from tuberculosis (TB) continued to decline, particularly in Africa and Europe, which recorded reductions of more than 45 per cent over the past decade. Still, the disease claimed an estimated 1.2 million lives in 2024, underscoring persistent risks linked to HIV, undernutrition and other factors.
Malaria control also advanced. Georgia, Suriname and Timor-Leste were certified malaria-free, while seven additional African countries introduced malaria vaccines in 2025. Combined with newer tools, including improved mosquito nets, these efforts helped prevent an estimated 170 million cases and one million deaths in 2024.
UNICEF/Rabik UpadhayayA doctor examines a newborn at a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal.Global health cooperation
Beyond disease-specific gains, 2025 also marked important advances in global health cooperation.
Countries adopted theworlds first Pandemic Agreementand strengthened the International Health Regulations (IHR), laying the groundwork for faster, fairer responses to future health emergencies.
World leaders endorsed ahistoric political declaration on noncommunicable diseases and mental health. New evidence-based guidance were also issued covering areas from maternal care and meningitis to diabetes in pregnancy and child-friendly cancer medicines.
Healthier lives, uneven progress
WHOs World Health Statistics 2025 report found that1.4 billion more people are living healthier lives, driven by reduced tobacco use, cleaner air and improved water and sanitation.
Immunization remained central to these gains. Global vaccination efforts have cut measles deaths by 88 per cent since 2000, saving nearly 59 million lives. In 2025, several countries expanded vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV), bringing the world closer to eliminating cervical cancer.
Yet challenges persist.Twenty million children missed essential vaccinesdue to conflict, supply disruptions and misinformation.Maternal and child deaths are also not declining fast enoughto meet global targets, underscoring the need for greater investments in primary healthcare and safe childbirth programmes.
UNICEF/Ahmed Mohamdeen ElfatihChildren and adults suffering from cholera receive treatment at an isolation centre in a hospital in Khartoum, Sudan.Funding pressures, crisis response
Funding cuts in 2025 disrupted servicesincluding maternal care, vaccination, HIV prevention and disease surveillance, with WHO warning that reduced financing could reverse hard-won gains.
Despite these pressures, WHO supported rapid responses to health emergencies and crisesacross 79 countries and territories, including Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, providing emergency medical support and helping contain outbreaks.
It delivered medicines, helped keep hospitals open, joined vaccination campaigns and made sure people could still access regular health servicesbecause babies still need to be born, heart attacks still need to be avoided, and diabetes still needs to be treated, even during an emergency.
Looking ahead
As it looks to 2026, WHO points to the adoption of the first Pandemic Agreement and strengthened International Health Regulations as signs of renewed global commitment to preparedness.
It emphasizes that it remains guided by the principle set out at its founding in 1948: that the highest attainable standard of health should be a right for everyone, not a privilege for a few.
Together,WHOstresses,with science, solutions and solidarity, we can build a healthier, safer, and more hopeful future for everyone.
UNICEF/Bashir Ahmed SujanA baby is held by its mother and entertained by its grandfather at a community clinic in northern Bangladesh.UNICEF/Rabik UpadhayayA doctor examines a newborn at a hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal.UNICEF/Ahmed Mohamdeen ElfatihChildren and adults suffering from cholera receive treatment at an isolation centre in a hospital in Khartoum, Sudan.UNICEF/Bashir Ahmed SujanA baby is held by its mother and entertained by its grandfather at a community clinic in northern Bangladesh.
