The World Health Organization (WHO) participated in the 151st Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, held from 19–23 October 2025 in Geneva. The event brought together nearly 1,150 delegates, including over 600 parliamentarians from 132 countries, to advance collective action on global health and equity.
Throughout the week, WHO collaborated with the IPU and its partners to emphasize the pivotal role of parliaments in promoting health equity, protecting humanitarian principles, and building resilient systems that uphold the health and rights of all individuals.
A key highlight of the Assembly was the inaugural session of the IPU Committee on Health—established earlier in April—to strengthen parliamentary engagement on health issues, particularly focusing on addressing inequalities and discrimination in healthcare access.
Bridging Policy and Realities: Advancing Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
During the first meeting of the IPU Committee on Health, Dr. Pascale Allotey, Director of WHO’s Department of Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing (including the HRP Programme), joined parliamentarians and technical partners to explore ways to better align sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) policies with people’s lived experiences.
The discussion brought together diverse voices from organizations such as UNFPA, the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum (SADC PF), and the European Parliamentary Forum for Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF). Together, they exchanged insights and evidence-based strategies to inform parliamentary action on SRHR amid growing misinformation and political challenges.
“Sexual and reproductive health is foundational to demographic sustainability, resilient health systems and social and economic development. And yet it remains one of the most contested areas in global health,” said Dr Allotey. She reaffirmed WHO’s long-standing partnership with the IPU and emphasized that evidence must be used – not only known – to inform parliamentary action in shaping laws, budgets and policies. Dr Allotey also highlighted shared priorities for the year ahead, including ensuring SRHR within universal health coverage (UHC), addressing adolescent SRH, including prevention of early pregnancy, addressing infertility and using data to guide progressive policy development, including on safe abortion care.
Breaking the Hunger Cycle: Parliamentary Action for Food Security
In collaboration with the IPU, PMNCH, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), WHO co-hosted a high-level workshop titled “Breaking the Hunger Cycle: Addressing Food Security.”
Moderated by Ms. Claudia Roth, Member of Parliament from Germany, the session featured Ms. Kaia Engesveen, Technical Officer at WHO’s Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, who presented the latest global data on malnutrition. She emphasized that although some progress has been made, accelerated action is essential to achieve the 2030 Global Nutrition Targets. Ms. Engesveen also highlighted key policy measures that parliamentarians can champion to combat malnutrition—such as food fortification, public food procurement, restrictions on marketing unhealthy foods, and taxation of sugary drinks.
Parliamentarians from various countries shared their national experiences, showcasing how legislative leadership can transform global commitments into concrete laws and budgetary actions that strengthen nutrition and food security. The session also served as a precursor to the Third Global Parliamentary Summit against Hunger and Malnutrition, set to take place in Midrand, South Africa, in 2026.
Upholding Humanitarian Norms and Protecting Health in Crises
The General Debate of this year’s Assembly centered on the theme “Upholding Humanitarian Norms and Supporting Humanitarian Action in Times of Crisis,” focusing on the importance of humanitarian principles amid rising conflicts, displacement, and the growing impact of climate and health emergencies.
Speaking on behalf of WHO, Ms Elisa Scolaro, External Relations Officer for Parliamentary Affairs, reminded delegates that “health is often the first casualty in crisis,” calling on parliamentarians to protect health workers and facilities, combat misinformation and secure sustainable financing for resilient health systems.
“In these divided times, health must remain a bridge for cooperation and dialogue, where all nations can work together toward a shared goal,” she said. “Parliaments play a vital role in ensuring that health is prioritized in national budgets and that governments are held accountable for their commitments.”
The Debate concluded with the adoption of the Geneva Declaration, which underscored health as a core component of humanitarian protection, stressing that hospitals, healthcare centres, ambulances and medical personnel must never be targeted or misused.
Youth leadership for humanitarian and health resilience
Representing the WHO Youth Council, Jingxin Xiao, from the youth-led global initiative Act4Food, delivered a statement at the Forum of Young Parliamentarians, emphasizing that young people are not only beneficiaries but also essential actors in humanitarian and health responses.
Ms Xiao urged parliamentarians to strengthen youth participation in decision-making, integrate health, climate and digital literacy into education systems, and protect youth mental health humanitarian settings. Her remarks reflected the WHO Youth Council’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that young voices influence global health policy and affirmed its intention to collaborate with the IPU Forum of Young Parliamentarians in future assemblies.
Strengthening parliamentary collaboration on tobacco control and beyond
On the margins of the Assembly, the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) Secretariat convened a side event titled “Parliamentary engagement: Strengthening collaboration on tobacco control and beyond.” The session brought together parliamentarians from over ten countries, international organizations and WHO experts to share experiences and explore opportunities to accelerate the implementation of the WHO FCTC and its Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.
Participants highlighted the crucial role of parliaments in advancing tobacco control legislation, increasing taxes on tobacco products, and safeguarding public health policies from industry interference. The event also underscored the need for sustained collaboration with parliamentarians and technical support from WHO to ensure full implementation of tobacco control measures, while integrating them into broader health and sustainable development agendas.
Strengthening collaboration with IPU
WHO’s active participation across the 151st IPU Assembly reaffirmed its steadfast collaboration with IPU. Building on this partnership, WHO invited parliamentarians to continue the dialogue at the next World Health Assembly, where WHO and IPU will co-host the annual Global Parliamentary Forum in May 2026.
With more than 50 WHO colleagues from headquarters engaged throughout the week, the IPU Assembly remains a critical platform for the Organization to maintain an open dialogue with policymakers. WHO remains committeed to working with IPU and partners on key priorities, including UHC, global health security and health promotion, with a focus on the health and well-being of women, children and adolescents.