Negotiations on new rules for dealing with the pandemic are ongoing in the World Health Organization, and the goal is to reach a legally binding agreement between all 2024 members of the UN agency by May 194.
The new agreement is a priority for WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as he begins his second five-year term at the helm of the agency. The goal is to strengthen the world's defense against new pathogens after the covid-19 pandemic, which, according to WHO data, claimed the lives of more than 6,5 million people, according to Reuters.
The global health agency itself is facing calls for reform after an independent panel described it as "underpowered" when the Covid pandemic broke out, with limited ability to investigate outbreaks and coordinate response measures.
The WHO already has binding rules known as the 2005 International Health Regulations that outline the obligations of states where public health events have the potential to spread across borders. Those rules include immediate notification of a health emergency to WHO and measures related to trade and travel.
Adopted after the SARS epidemic in 2002 and 2003, these regulations are still considered functional for regional epidemics like Ebola, but insufficient for a global pandemic. The member states agreed in July that the new agreement should be legally binding. It would be only the second such health agreement after the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, an agreement aimed at reducing smoking through taxation and rules on labeling and advertising of tobacco products.
It is unclear how the 2005 regulations and the new pandemic agreement will work. One proposal is to complement each other, so that the existing rules apply to local epidemics, and the new rules come into force in the event that the WHO declares a pandemic - for which it currently has no mandate. It remains to be seen whether negotiators will include measures such as sanctions to ensure compliance with the agreement.
The agreement was also proposed by the EU and is considered its biggest proponent. Developing countries want to use the talks to secure better access to vaccines, following allegations of "vaccine apartheid".
Members should give their first feedback on the draft early next month, and since so many countries are involved, reaching an agreement will not be easy, Reuters points out.
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