Stronger together: milestones that mattered in 2025

Elimination of mother-to-child disease transmission

Maldives became the first country to achieve “triple elimination” of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B. Brazil was also recognized for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV, making it the most populous country in the Americas to achieve this historic milestone.

Elimination of trachoma, sleeping sickness and river blindness

Burundi, Egypt and Fiji eliminated trachoma, while Guinea and Kenya eliminated sleeping sickness. Niger became the first African country to eliminate river blindness. WHO’s Global report on neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) shows 32% fewer people needing treatments against an NTD since 2010, with 867 million people treated in 2023.

Decline in deaths from tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) deaths declined significantly, with the WHO African and European regions achieving 46% and 49% reductions over the past decade. Yet TB still killed 1.2 million people in 2024, underscoring the need to address risk factors like HIV, diabetes, smoking and undernutrition.

Progress in malaria control

In 2025, Georgia, Suriname and Timor-Leste were certified malaria-free, and 7 additional new countries in Africa introduced malaria vaccines – a key intervention for child survival. This brings the total to 24 countries, reaching more than 10 million children annually. Wider use of new tools against malaria, including dual-ingredient nets and WHO-recommended vaccines, helped to prevent an estimated 170 million cases and 1 million deaths in 2024.

Continued scale-up of vaccination programmes

With support from WHO and partners, countries continue scaling up vaccination programmes to protect against diseases including meningitis, pneumococcal disease, polio, rotavirus and HPV (human papillomavirus – a major cause of cervical cancer). On 17 November, the first World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day, WHO and partners announced 86 million girls vaccinated against HPV. In 2025, countries including Bhutan, Brazil, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Rwanda expanded HPV vaccination and screening – bringing the world closer to eliminating cervical cancer.

Global immunization efforts have led to an 88% drop in measles deaths between 2000 and 2024; nearly 59 million lives have been saved by the measles vaccine since 2000. Despite fewer deaths, measles cases are surging worldwide, with an estimated 11 million infections in 2024 – nearly 800 000 more than pre-pandemic levels in 2019. At least 95% coverage with two measles vaccine doses is required to stop transmission and protect communities from outbreaks of this highly contagious virus.

While 89% of infants worldwide received at least one dose against diphtheria, tetanus and polio (DTP), 20 million children missed out on essential vaccines in 2024 due to conflict, supply disruptions, and a rise in vaccine misinformation.

WHO’s World Health Statistics 2025 report showed that 1.4 billion more people enjoy healthier lives thanks to reduced tobacco use, cleaner air, and better water and sanitation. HIV and tuberculosis rates are falling, and fewer people need treatment from neglected tropical diseases.

Despite these successes, progress towards increased coverage of essential health services and emergency protection still lags. Maternal and child deaths are not falling fast enough to reach global targets. After two decades of remarkable gains, underinvestment in primary health care and gaps in services, including immunization and safe childbirth, are hampering progress.

Funding cuts in 2025 have severely disrupted services including maternal care, vaccination, HIV prevention, and disease surveillance. A study published in March warned these cuts could lead to 4–10 million new HIV infections and 3 million deaths by 2030. Despite funding setbacks, the global HIV response gained new momentum with the WHO approval of twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir for HIV treatment and prevention. WHO is helping countries adapt to the situation with support for local production of quality medicines and diagnostics, and recommendation of low-cost HIV tests.

WHO’s flagship World Health Day campaign Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures urged governments and the health community to ramp up efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths, and to prioritize women’s longer-term health and well-being.

Women and families everywhere need high quality care that supports them physically and emotionally, before, during and after birth. Health systems must evolve to manage the many health issues that impact maternal and newborn health. These include not only direct obstetric complications but also mental health conditions, noncommunicable diseases, and family planning. The campaign calls for investments that have been shown to yield results: every US$ 1 invested in maternal and newborn health is estimated to yield US$ 9–20 in return.

It has been a remarkable year for global advocacy on noncommunicable disease (NCDs) and mental health. NCDs, including cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases, and mental health conditions, are the leading cause of death, illness and disability. Over 75% of non-pandemic-related deaths are associated with NCDs and mental health, and a staggering 86% of premature deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries.

At the United Nations General Assembly, world leaders adopted the strongest political declaration yet on NCDs and mental health. The declaration sets a new vision anchored in ambitious fast-track targets for 2030: 150 million fewer tobacco users, 150 million more people with controlled hypertension, and 150 million more with access to mental health care.

There have been many success stories: WHO recognized 4 countries – Austria, Norway, Oman, and Singapore for their efforts to eliminate industrial trans fats from food supplies. Nearly 60 countries now have best-practice policies for trans fats, covering half the world’s population.

More than 1 billion people worldwide are living with obesity, a chronic, relapsing disease that drives NCDs and worsens outcomes for infectious diseases. To address this major health challenge, WHO released its first recommendations on the use of Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) therapies for treating obesity and weight loss.

More than 120 million people have quit tobacco since 2010 – a 27% decline – thanks to tobacco control efforts in many countries worldwide. Yet, tobacco still hooks one in five adults worldwide, causing millions of preventable deaths every year. And aggressive marketing by the tobacco industry of e-cigarettes to young people is fueling a new wave of nicotine addiction that risks undermining decades of progress.

The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – which celebrated its 20th anniversary this year – is the first international treaty negotiated by WHO and now covers more than 90% of the world’s population through measures including smoke-free laws, graphic health warnings and tax increases.

WHO is leading the WHO 3 by 35 Initiative, a bold global effort that aims to reduce consumption of three harmful products – tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks – through tax increases that could mobilize US$ 1 trillion in public revenue by 2035.

Mental health care is a human right

WHO continues to champion mental health as a human right. More than one billion people live with mental health conditions, yet most lack access to care. Suicide is a leading cause of death among young people. WHO urges investment in services, integration into primary care, and stigma reduction, expanding its QualityRights initiative globally.

One in five people in emergencies lives with a mental health condition – yet many of them receive no care at all. With WHO’s support, 71% of countries have a coordinated mechanism to ensure people receive mental health and psychosocial support in emergencies. WHO is actively supporting mental health care in over 40 emergencies, with deployments from a roster of 600 specialists, and guidance on priority actions to ensure essential care reaches people who need it most.

Lifelong learning in health

In its first full year of operation, the WHO Academy expanded its reach by providing access to more than 250 courses on the WHO Academy online learning platform in more than 20 languages, with one course, QualityRights in Mental Health, available in 17 languages, significantly broadening its global reach and impact. Achievements include training experts from 16 Francophone countries on national planning for digital health and the launch of the Primary Health Care Global Leadership course with participants from 77 countries. The WHO Academy quality standards ensure that the Academy’s learning offer upholds WHO values, principles, and evidence-based approaches while fostering equity, inclusivity, and accessibility. The revitalization of the Pacific Open Learning Health Net as a dedicated learning space on the WHO Academy platform took place in October.

More than 4.4 billion people – more than half the world’s population – live in urban areas, and this is projected to rise to nearly 70% by 2050. Cities are on the frontline for health risks including air pollution, unsafe transport, poor housing and climate hazards. In a new guide for urban health planning, WHO provides practical guidance for governments for healthier, more sustainable urban living.

The Lancet Countdown 2025 warned that climate inaction is killing millions, calling for health-centered climate policies. WHO advocates for cleaner air, resilient health systems, and sustainable solutions to protect people and the planet. At COP30 in Brazil, WHO outlined evidence on the health impacts of climate change and called for immediate action to protect health in a rapidly warming world.

WHO and Brazil released a landmark report showing how climate change has already intensified a global health emergency, with extreme heat causing over 540 000 deaths a year and 1 in 12 hospitals at risk of climate-related shutdowns. Grounded in the newly-launched Belém Health Action Plan, the report highlights converging risks, from rising temperatures to fragile health systems and deep inequities, while a companion report stresses the importance of community participation. Together, they translate the Belém Plan into evidence and practical pathways, marking COP30 as a decisive moment when the world had the tools to turn scientific warnings into action.

The WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin continues to drive innovation to help countries prepare for health emergencies. Its latest milestone is the launch of an updated version of an AI-powered platform for the early detection of public health threats worldwide, the Epidemic Intelligence from Open Sources system.

This system, used by more than 110 countries and 30 organizations and networks, enables public health teams to quickly identify new health threats and monitor ongoing events, whether linked to conflict, climate change or new or re-emerging pathogens. In 2025, WHO assessed and verified around 500 health threats from 1.2 million signals detected. WHO worked with countries to respond to 450 of these events, preventing disease spread and saving lives.

To better prepare countries to respond, WHO convenes scientists, researchers, and technical experts to speed up the development of tests, treatments, and vaccines. One concrete example is the WHO BioHub, a system through which countries share biological materials with epidemic and pandemic potential to advance research and prepare for emergencies. This year, the BioHub added MERS and Oropouche viruses to its collection.

Complementing this, the R&D Blueprint for Epidemics brought together global expertise to prioritize research and close preparedness gaps for high-risk pathogens, including avian influenza, Rift Valley fever, Oropouche disease, and Ebola.

A new National Health Emergency Alert and Response Framework is helping countries detect outbreaks within 7 days and complete early response actions within 14 days.

Exercise Polaris, a global simulation involving 15 countries, made headlines, but it was just one of around 50 simulation exercises managed by WHO’s teams. These exercises help WHO and partners to test and improve our systems so they work more smoothly during a crisis.

Amendments to the International Health Regulations also came into force this year and include the introduction of a new “pandemic emergency” alert level to trigger stronger cooperation. The latest amendments are a renewed global commitment to cooperation in the face of public health emergencies, shaped by hard-earned lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Sudan virus disease emerged in Uganda in January 2025, WHO facilitated the launch of a clinical trial for a new candidate vaccine within four days – the fastest ever during an outbreak. WHO also supported governments and partners to respond to outbreaks of Marburg virus disease in the United Republic of Tanzania and in Ethiopia.

On 4 September, the Democratic Republic of the Congo declared an outbreak of Ebola. Rapid deployment of 112 experts and frontline responders and more than 150 tonnes of medical supplies and equipment, and vaccination of more than 47 000 people, enabled the outbreak to be successfully contained within 6 weeks. For the first time during an outbreak, an innovative treatment unit, developed with WHO, the World Food Programme and partners, was deployed, significantly improving patient care.

The following day, 5 September, the WHO Director-General announced that the upsurge of mpox was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. More than 1.1 million vaccine doses were deployed to protect people at high-risk in 11 African countries, where 80% of global infections of mpox were reported.

Climate change, conflict, and lack of infrastructure for safe water and sanitation continue to fuel outbreaks of cholera. In 2025, more than half a million people across 32 countries were infected and more than 7000 people died of cholera, a preventable and treatable disease. WHO supported countries to track, treat and prevent the disease, including by providing essential medical supplies and oral cholera vaccines through the global emergency stockpile.

The International Coordinating Group on Vaccine Provision approved more than 61 million vaccine doses for cholera, Ebola, yellow fever and meningitis emergency response in 19 countries.

In 2025, avian influenza (bird flu) continued to spread widely among animals, posing possible risks to human health. Flu viruses change quickly, and a new strain of seasonal flu spread across countries from mid-August. WHO conducted regular risk assessments and gathered evidence to update its recommendations, such as for vaccine composition.

Disasters impacted people’s health in many parts of the world. WHO delivered medicines, helped keep hospitals open, joined vaccination campaigns, and made sure people could still access regular health services – because babies still need to be born, heart attacks still need to be avoided, and diabetes still needs to be treated, even during an emergency.

Through the WHO contingency fund for emergencies, US$ 29 million was quickly released to respond to emergencies in 30 countries this year.

Throughout 2025 and despite extremely difficult conditions for humanitarian aid, WHO continued to deliver life-saving care to people in some of the world’s most inaccessible and dangerous places. We worked alongside partners to maintain essential care, restore immunization, and deliver trauma care and other health services, including maternal care and essential medicines for people living with chronic diseases such as diabetes. WHO-supported emergency medical teams provided 1.6 million consultations in the most trying of circumstances.

In response to the earthquakes that struck Myanmar, WHO provided 170 tonnes of medicines, medical devices and tents to expand the capacity in hospitals overwhelmed by the influx of patients. WHO also coordinated the deployment of more than 20 emergency medical teams on the ground.

Conflict devastated health services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gaza, Haiti, Syria, Sudan and Ukraine. As of 17 December, a total of 1283 attacks on health care – on facilities, staff, patients, supplies and ambulances – have been reported during the year, causing 1980 deaths and 1163 injuries among health workers and patients.

In Gaza, since the start of the conflict in October 2023, WHO has delivered more than 2500 metric tons of medical supplies and 18 million litres of fuel to hospitals, ambulances and health partners. WHO also coordinated more than 80 Health Cluster partners, who provided close to 15 million medical consultations in Gaza. The Organization prioritized restoring critical health services – rehabilitating hospitals (keeping about half of the 36 hospitals at least partially functional), deploying emergency medical teams, and supporting over 8000 medical evacuations for critically ill patients to 30 countries. Since October 2025, the ceasefire continues to hold, but the health needs remain immense. WHO is supporting the health system’s reconstruction and recovery, with 27 newly reopened health facilities.

The Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) marked its 25th anniversary. Bringing together over 300 institutions, the network deployed more than 160 experts to support emergency response this year, bringing critical expertise where it’s most needed.

Looking ahead

With the WHO Pandemic Agreement annex on Pandemic Access and Benefits-Sharing set for consideration at the World Health Assembly, and the UN General Assembly meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response, countries have an historic chance to strengthen global health security in 2026 by establishing a fair, rapid and globally-agreed system for accessing vaccines and other medical innovations.

As WHO enters 2026 under its Fourteenth General Programme of Work, the Organization remains committed to the vision set out in 1948: the highest attainable standard of health – not as a privilege for some, but as a right for all.

Together, with science, solutions and solidarity, we can build a healthier, safer, and more hopeful future for everyone.

Published on 23 December 2025