WHO and INTERPOL set global health-security cooperation framework
A cooperation agreement announced October 16 covers health and security emergencies, illicit health products, trafficking for organ removal and other issues.
WHO and INTERPOL announced a framework for cooperation between public health and law enforcement on October 16, 2026. The agreement had been signed earlier: its signature page dates WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s signature to July 31 in Geneva. INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza’s handwritten signature date appears to read September 14, in Lyon.
The organizations list cooperation on suspected misuse of chemical or radioactive materials, unusual biological events and preparedness for major international events and mass gatherings. The framework also covers trafficking for organ removal, illegal trade in human organs, tissues and cells, and illicit health-related products.
Those products include falsified medicines, vaccines and medical devices; counterfeit protective equipment; unsafe or fraudulently labelled food and drink; and illegally produced alcohol. The announcement also lists support for implementing the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It reports no arrests, seizures, operational deployments or measured health outcomes, and specifies no implementation schedule, budget or measurable targets.
