WHO: Treaty on pandemics does not grant sovereignty over states

Director of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusdefended today at the World Government Summit in Dubai that a possible global agreement on pandemics, which is still in the process of negotiation, “does not give WHO any sovereign power over any country.”

During his speech, Ghebreyesus explained that the agreement on the pandemic faces two main obstacles: a “lack of consensus” among countries and “conspiracy theories”.

They criticize the possible agreement as “an attack on freedom, control over lives and a travel ban”, which is why the director of the WHO emphasized that all these accusations are “false”.

He defended it “the treaty does not give the WHO any power over any country”it is stated in the draft published on the website of the UN agency.

“Our job is to advise” those who ask for it, Ghebreyesus asserted and confirmed that the WHO “will not even be part of the agreement”, but only governments will be part of the pact which aims to “strengthen prevention, research, access to vaccines and data exchange and biological samples.

“The world is not ready for a new pandemic,” said Ghebreyesus, who sees the possibility of a new yet unknown epidemic.

On January 30, more than 40 former world leaders signed a letter asking WHO member countries to negotiate a global agreement to prepare for future pandemics in May, amid fears that current disagreements will culminate in failure.

Difficulties in the negotiations seem to lie in a different vision between drug-producing countries and developing countries regarding the patents needed to produce vaccines and other vital tools in pandemics and health crises.

Dengue concerns

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it is monitoring with concern the outbreak of dengue fever in various Latin American countries, with a total of 373,000 cases in the first month of the year, of which more than 262,000 correspond to Brazil alone.

This country, the largest in the region, has decided to include in its vaccination program a new vaccine that is marketed against dengue fever, a disease that is constantly expanding and is already found in Mediterranean countries, South America and parts of Africa.