Pakistan, July 19 -- The United States has rejected an agreement adopted by members of the World Health Organisation to improve preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to Covid-19, the American government said on Friday.

The State Department and Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement they had transmitted on Friday the official US rejection of the legally binding pact, which was adopted in Geneva in May after three years of negotiations. The pact aims to ensure that drugs, therapeutics and vaccines are globally accessible when the next pandemic hits. It requires participating manufacturers to allocate a target of 20 per cent of their vaccines, medicines and tests to the WHO during a ...