Members of the World Health Organization have reached an agreement to prepare the world for future pandemics after more than three years of negotiations, the WHO said early on Wednesday.

The legally binding pact is intended to shore up the world's defenses against new pathogens after the COVID-19 pandemic killed millions of people in 2020-22.

"After more than three years of intensive negotiations, WHO member states took a major step forward in efforts to make the world safer from pandemics," the health body said in a statement.

The proposal outlines measures to prevent future pandemics and global collaboration in responses to outbreaks, it said.

The agreement is widely seen as a victory for the global health agency, at a time when multilateral organizations like the WHO have been battered by sharp cuts in U.S. foreign funding.

"This is a historic agreement for health security, equity and international solidarity," French Ambassador for Global Health Anne-Claire Amprou said in the statement.

The proposal will be considered at the World Health Assembly policy meeting in May, the WHO said.