Oluwatobi Adu 
ABUJA, Nigeria – Member states at the Seventy-Ninth World Health Assembly have adopted a landmark resolution aimed at expanding equitable access to precision medicine worldwide.
The resolution supports the ethical use of clinical, molecular and genomic data to improve disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment while strengthening universal health coverage.
The World Health Organization says countries have agreed to improve policies, infrastructure, workforce capacity and governance systems needed to safely integrate precision medicine into healthcare delivery.
WHO notes that precision medicine is already improving outcomes in cancer care, infectious diseases, maternal health, mental health and rare diseases.
However, the agency warns that major inequalities persist, especially in low and middle-income countries where populations remain underrepresented in research and health data systems.
Director for Science for Health Meg Doherty says the new resolution provides a clear mandate for global action.
“Precision medicine is already transforming lives across the world,” Doherty says. “But its benefits remain out of reach for too many people.”
WHO says it will develop a Global Strategy on Precision Medicine and provide technical support to member states to ensure equitable implementation.
Chief Scientist Sylvie Briand says the initiative could significantly improve patient-centred healthcare globally.
“By uniting people-centred healthcare with innovation, precision medicine has the potential to transform lives,” Briand says.
The resolution also tasks WHO with creating tools to help countries assess their readiness to implement precision medicine systems responsibly and ethically.
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