Unprecedented. The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has announced that it has signed a four-year memorandum of understanding with the World Health Organisation (WHO). Signed in Geneva by WADA’s President, Poland’s Witold Bańka, and the WHO’s Director General, Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (pictured above), it will run until 1 October 2027. The aim is to enable experts from the two international organisations to collaborate and share information on issues where anti-doping and public health intersect. In detail, the agreement revolves around five themes: prevention and assessment of health risks associated with the use of psychoactive substances and related disorders, with a focus on doping compounds and substance use among athletes; raising awareness and advocacy for clean sport and prevention of substance abuse worldwide; raising awareness through educational initiatives with the support of ambassadors and influential personalities; collaboration on substandard and falsified medical products; and finally reporting on the abuse and misuse of falsified and substandard medical products in sport. This formal agreement between WADA and the WHO follows an initial meeting between the two organisations in April 2023 at WHO headquarters in Geneva.
