Five years after Covid-19 caused national lockdowns, economic uncertainty and killed millions, World Health Organization member states have agreed to a draft Pandemic Treaty, which set guidelines on how the international community will tackle the next global health crisis.
After much of the world's disastrous response to the coronavirus, countries have appointed WHO in 2021 to oversee the pandemic treaty. The negotiations were signed early Wednesday in a contract that is expected to be adopted next month at the UN Health Organization's annual meeting in Geneva.
Director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced it as a historic moment, saying that “in our divided world, nations can work together to find a common foundation and a shared response.”
Following President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the country from WHO in January, American officials will be banned from participating in consultations and are not expected to sign the treaty. During Covid-19 it was mainly American research and development that produced the most effective vaccines and drugs.
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A few weeks after Trump's decision, Argentine President Javier Miley left the WHO citing “deep differences” with UN agencies.
Rachel Crockett, advocacy group for neglected illness initiatives, described the draft pandemic treaty as “a product of compromise.” She said that it contained strong provisions, but only if it chose to implement them. “This could change what we saw in Covid if some groups don't have access to what they need.”
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The draft treaty includes provisions to ensure that countries sharing important virus samples receive the resulting tests, drugs and vaccines, along with WHO, where poor countries hold up to 20% of such products to obtain supply. Negotiations regarding this provision are expected to continue even after the treaty was accepted by member states in May.
Crockett acknowledged that, as is common in international law, “If a country chooses to ratify or not adhere to it, there is not much that can be done,” and that countries that do not comply have little consequences.
Yuanqiong Hu, a physician from a borderless aid organization, said that in the event of conflicts between countries, the treaty includes a mechanism for subsequent arbitration by using diplomatic channels.
The country is already legally bound by international health regulations to do things like promptly reporting new dangerous outbreaks. But they have been repeatedly fled, including Ebola and other African countries during the outbreak, the early stages of Covid-19, and the US amidst the ongoing avian flu outbreak.
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