No one agrees on anything.
After two years of strenuous negotiations, the World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged the failure of endeavors to devise a global treaty aimed at assisting nations in combating future pandemics.
In a statement issued on Friday, the WHO conveyed that member states had concluded extensive deliberations aimed at bolstering global capacities to address future pandemics and outbreaks in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. They agreed to present the outcomes of their work for consideration during the upcoming World Health Assembly, which commences Monday.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, remarked in the statement, “Over the past two years, WHO Member States have dedicated enormous effort to confront the challenge posed by COVID-19 and mitigate the losses it caused, including at least 7 million lives lost. While significant progress was achieved during these negotiations, there remain obstacles to overcome. We must utilize the World Health Assembly to reinvigorate our efforts and accomplish the task at hand, which is to present the world with a transformative pandemic agreement.”
In 2021, member countries tasked the WHO with leading negotiations to determine how the world could better distribute resources and prevent future viruses from rapidly spreading globally.
Roland Driece, co-chair of the WHO’s negotiating board for the treaty, emphasized that the World Health Assembly meeting this week would need to chart a path forward. Ghebreyesus stressed, as reported by the Associated Press, “We will endeavor tirelessly, believing that anything is possible, to make this a reality because the world still requires a pandemic treaty. Many of the challenges that had a significant impact during COVID-19 persist.”
Although the co-chairs did not specify the cause of the treaty’s collapse, diplomats have indicated that significant disparities remain regarding the sharing of information about emerging pathogens and the sharing of technologies to combat them.
The latest draft proposed allocating 20% of pandemic-related product production, such as tests, treatments, and vaccines, to the WHO, and urged countries to disclose their agreements with private entities.
Earlier in the month, U.S. Republican senators urged President Biden against endorsing a treaty that essentially “empowers the WHO.”
Meanwhile, many developing nations argued that it is unjust for them to be expected to provide virus samples to aid in vaccine and treatment development, only to be unable to afford them later.
Precious Matsoso, the other co-chair of the WHO’s negotiating board for the treaty, expressed optimism about reaching an agreement, stating to the AP, “We will ensure that this occurs because when the next pandemic strikes, it will spare none of us.”
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