On December 1st the World Health Organisation agreed to begin pushing forward an international agreement against pandemics. This will present ways in which countries should prepare for and prevent them.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, said "The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on the many flaws in the global system to protect people from pandemics: the most vulnerable people going without vaccines; health workers without needed equipment to perform their life-saving work; and 'me-first' approaches that stymie the global solidarity needed to deal with a global threat."
The pandemic has left every country with loses but also gains and this treaty would be one of them. By having an International Pandemic Treaty everyone will have the relief of knowing there are plans in place. Each country will have these structured plans to respond to any future pandemics which will massively help everyone. The isolated and uncertain future that came with COVID-19 could potentially be stopped with this prevention.
The Health Assembly met in a Special Session, the second-ever since WHO's founding in 1948, which makes this occasion an historic event. During this meeting a sole decision titled: "The World Together" was accepted.
This decision establishes an intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement, or other international instrument on pandemic prevention and response, (as said by the WHO.) By calling on countries to make an agreed upon plan will further help to make sure the responses to pandemics not only help each country individually but also support all.
United Nations member states have agreed to a timeline which could lead to the binding of this treaty. However, countries are currently presenting varied opinions on which directions this treaty should take, as it could mean sharing vaccines and medical equipment for future pandemics.
Responses of the nations:
Poorer countries have pushed forward the need for affordable access for nations when it comes to vaccines, tests and other health resources that may be needed.
Around 80% of the world's COVID-19 vaccines went to wealthy nations and 0.6% went to low-income countries, according to The World Health Organisation.
Wealthier countries have presented the need for better information sharing. Focusing on any new outbreaks that may arise in the future.
The European Union and 70 other countries are pushing forward the need for this treaty but still a few other countries like the US want a softer agreement.
It is still in the early stages and will take years to draw up a conclusion, which means all decisions are unclear until then.
This treaty would be an important and useful step towards tackling the effects of pandemics and outbreaks as well as better understanding the ways on how to best handle them worldwide.
