The WHO extends negotiations on a global pandemic agreement

There was no breakthrough on Thursday in negotiations on an international agreement to prevent pandemics. After ten days of the ninth round of negotiations in Geneva, the 194 WHO member states decided to schedule a new meeting.

The renewed negotiations will take place in London from April 29 to May 10, as the World Health Organization (WHO) announced late Thursday evening. An agreement must therefore prevent disagreements that have arisen during the corona pandemic.

The decision to develop an international pandemic treaty was taken by the 194 WHO member states in December 2021 to learn lessons from the Corona crisis. According to the WHO, at least 20 million people have died worldwide as a result of the corona pandemic since the end of 2019. Countermeasures such as lockdowns and travel restrictions caused serious economic damage. Healthcare systems were also unprepared for the pandemic: a lack of vaccines has long hampered the fight against the coronavirus.

To be better prepared for future health crises and to respond faster and more targeted in the event of a pandemic, an internationally binding agreement with clear rules on prevention, preparedness and response must be agreed now. . It should, among other things, provide precise action guidelines for all WHO Member States before and during a pandemic and ensure reliable financing.

The European countries that have particularly strongly called for the pandemic treaty want to ensure that more money is invested in the prevention of pandemics. African countries, on the other hand, are mainly pushing for better access to vaccines and medicines. The US, in turn, wants to ensure that when new pathogens emerge, all countries are required to exchange data and samples quickly and transparently (saw/sda/afp)