By Reuters Staff

       1 Min Read

       FILE PHOTO: German Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures as she and Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki (not pictured) address a joint press conference after talks in Berlin, Germany November 25, 2021. John MacDougall/Pool via REUTERS

       GENEVA (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday the World Health Organisation required reliable financing with higher donations from member states, and she backed it launching negotiations for a binding international accord on preventing pandemics.

       Merkel was addressing health ministers at the start of a WHO special assembly after its 194 member states reached a tentative consensus to negotiate a future agreement on preventing pandemics, bridging the gap between sides led by the European Union and United States, diplomats said on Sunday.

       “As we speak, the global community is faced with the threat of a new, highly transmissible variant of COVID-19, Omicron,” Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission President, told the three-day talks that are expected to conclude on Wednesday with the adoption of the draft resolution on launching negotiations.

       Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay; Editing by Gareth Jones

       Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.