The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Commonwealth Secretariat today agreed to renew their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for four years, reaffirming their shared commitment to improving health and well-being across the Commonwealth’s 56 member countries, and strengthening collaboration to address pressing global health challenges.
After the expiry of the first MoU signed in 2022, this the second MoU that was signed by the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Hon Shirley Botchwey, and the WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The renewed partnership reflects a shared vision to support Commonwealth member countries to build stronger, more resilient and more equitable health systems, said the press release of the WHO.
Meanwhile, Chile has become the first country in South America to receive the World Health Organization (WHO) validation for eliminating dog-transmitted rabies as a public health problem. The recognition highlights more than 50 years of progress without a human case of rabies and confirms the country’s capacity to prevent transmission from re-emerging.
The recognition reflects more than five decades of sustained national efforts to interrupt dog-mediated transmission and maintain that achievement through dog vaccination, surveillance and timely access to post-exposure prophylaxis.
Rabies is one of 21 neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which affect one billion people globally. As of September 2026, 65 countries had eliminated at least one NTD, including seven in the Americas. Chile’s validation for rabies marks its second NTD elimination achievement; earlier this year, it was verified by WHO for the elimination of leprosy, becoming the first country in the Americas to achieve this target, its added.
