The talks at the headquarters of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva would probably have to be extended, participants said on Thursday. The participants had actually aimed to reach an agreement by midnight.
“It is certain that there is no agreement today and therefore the negotiations must be extended,” said Yuanqiong Hu of Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which, like other aid organizations, helped with the negotiations. “The member states are currently discussing what the next stages should look like.”
Decision from 2021
The decision to develop an international pandemic agreement was made by the 194 WHO member states in December 2021 in order to learn the lessons from the Corona crisis. According to the WHO, at least 20 million people worldwide have died as a result of the corona pandemic since the end of 2019. Countermeasures such as lockdowns and travel restrictions caused severe economic damage. The health systems were also not prepared for the pandemic: a lack of vaccine hampered the fight against the coronavirus for a long time.
In order to be better prepared for future health crises and to be able to react more quickly and in a targeted manner in the event of a pandemic, an internationally binding agreement with clear rules in the areas of prevention, preparedness and response should now be agreed. Among other things, it should contain precise action guidelines for all WHO member states before and during a pandemic and ensure reliable financing.
African countries are insisting on vaccines
The European countries that have particularly vehemently called for the pandemic agreement want to ensure that more money is invested in pandemic prevention. African countries, on the other hand, are primarily insisting on better access to vaccines and medicines. The USA, in turn, wants to ensure that when new pathogens arise, all countries are obliged to exchange data and samples quickly and transparently.
