WHO members to negotiate global pandemic treaty

World Health Organization member states agreed on Wednesday to begin the process of creating and drafting an accord that would improve pandemic response and preparedness. 

The World Health Assembly, which includes delegations from WHO member nations, convened for a special session and decided to start the process of creating an international agreement to focus on pandemic preparedness, which would be negotiated and drafted by an “intergovernmental negotiating body,” according to WHO.

The intergovernmental body tasked with creating and developing the accord will meet once by March 1, 2022 and a second time by Aug. 1., 2022. 

“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,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

“But at the same time, we have seen inspiring demonstrations of scientific and political collaboration, from the rapid development of vaccines, to today’s commitment by countries to negotiate a global accord that will help to keep future generations safer from the impacts of pandemics,” he added. 

The news comes as the WHO and nations are trying to tackle a new strain of COVID-19, which the international organization last month called a “variant of concern.” 

The variant, omicron, has already been detected in a handful of countries since it was first spotted by scientists in South Africa and some nations like Israel and the U.S. have imposed travel restrictions to combat further spread.

Cases of omicron have so far not been yet detected in the U.S., however President Biden’s chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci said on Sunday it would “inevitably” hit the country.