This year’s packed agenda reflected this reality, with more than 30 resolutions and decisions on weighty topics including pandemic preparedness and recovery, the health workforce, sustainable financing, and WHO reform. As COVID-19 took center stage, landmark independent evaluations from The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee (IOAC) for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, and the report of the Review Committee on the Functioning of the International Health Regulations (2005) during the COVID-19 response offered recommendations for WHO and Member States to act on during the new phases of this pandemic and how to prepare for the next.