WHO has established the compulsory plan in the case of a new pandemic, after 3 years of negotiations. US will not participate
The member countries of the World Health Organization arrived on Wednesday a historical agreement on the lessons to learn from Covid-19 experience, which killed millions of people between 2020 and 2022, and prepare the world for future pandemic, reports Reuters.
The sensitive points in the way of this agreement included the fair way of distributing drugs and vaccines between the rich and the poorest countries.
The agreement, which has a compulsory legal character, is largely considered a victory for the International Health Agency in a period when multilateral organizations, including WHO, have been affected by significant reductions in external financing.
“After more than three years of intense negotiations, WHO member states have taken a major step in efforts to make the world safer in front of the Pandemi,” the organization said in a statement.
American negotiators left the discussions after President Donald Trump initiated, to take over the mandate in January, a 12 -month trial for US withdrawal – by far the biggest financial supporter of WHO – from the Agency. In this context, the US would not be obliged to respect the agreement.
“Historical moment” for world health
“It is a historical moment and a proof that, with or without the US, countries are determined to collaborate and believe in the power of multilateralism,” Nina Schwalbe, the founder of the Global Health Spark Street Advisors told Reuters.
It is only the second time in the 75 years of existence of WHO when the Member States reaches a mandatory agreement – the previous one was the Convention on Tobacco Control of 2003.
The agreement, to be adopted by the World Health Assembly in May and ratified by the participating members, addresses the structural inequities related to how medicines, vaccines and medical instruments are developed.
Article 9 of the Agreement obliges governments to establish national policies that provide for access conditions in research and development agreements and to ensure, for the first time in an international health agreement, that medicines, treatments and pandemic vaccines are globally accessible.
“The agreement essentially offers the members of the WHO more strength in terms of the preparation, response and prevention of future pandemic,” said Ricardo Matute, adviser for public policies within the Governing Pandemics team of the Global Health Center at the Institute of International Studies in Geneva.
What will happen in the event of a new pandemic
The measures provided include that the WHO have an overview of the global supply chains with medical materials, such as masks and vaccines. Also, the agreement will allow a wider local production of vaccines and other treatments during a pandemic.
Major blockages have delayed signing the agreement so far.
There have been hours in debates on article 11, which refers to the transfer of technology-sharing knowledge, skills and production capacities-to support especially low-income countries to produce vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests related to pandemic.
The agreement obliges the participating producers to allocate a 20% objective of their production in progress of vaccines, treatments and diagnostic tests during a pandemic. At least 10% will be donations, and the rest will be reserved at affordable prices.
The agreement is to be presented to the WHO Assembly in May, when the text could be adopted. This is not guaranteed because an annex to the agreement. Regarding access to pathogens and sharing benefits, it has not yet been agreed and will require additional negotiations, sources in the field of health said.
After being approved by the assembly, the Member States who participated in the negotiations must ratify the agreement.
Health experts hope that this agreement will determine governments to invest more in the preparation for pandemic, in the context of budgetary reductions in the field of global health.
“Leaders should invest in preparation for pandemics and in the ability to respond in emergencies … we can no longer afford another pandemic, but we can afford to prevent one,” said Helen Clark, an independent commission for training in case of pandemic, in a statement.
