Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Health Assembly will convene on Monday. As part of the agreement, WHO Member States will present the results of their extensive negotiations to enhance global capabilities to respond to pandemics and outbreaks in the future.
The International Health Regulations (2005) underwent two simultaneous negotiation processes to create the first pandemic agreement, convention, or other legal document, as well as several other amendments.
The outcomes of both processes and their respective next steps will be discussed by delegations to the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly, which will take place from May 27 to June 1, 2021.
“WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that over the last two years, WHO Member States have committed tremendous effort to meet this challenge posed by COVID-19 and respond to the losses it caused, including at least 7 million lives lost.” “Everyone was impacted by COVID-19 in different ways, which is why Member States initiated the process of creating a pandemic agreement to better prepare the world for the next pandemic.”
These conversations resulted in a lot of progress, but obstacles still need to be solved. To complete the task at hand presenting the world with a generational pandemic agreement we must utilize the World Health Assembly to galvanize us.
Countries today ended their resumed 9th meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) comprising WHO’s 194 member states. Initial agreement was reached by the INB on multiple elements of the draft agreement, and convergence was reached on others. There were also areas of non-convergence and divergent views.
The draft text that has been negotiated thus far is the result of over two years of work, and the INB Bureau, which has been leading the process, will give a report detailing the process’s work. The WHA will also be presented with options for the final phases in the agreement process to review and consider.
Bureau co-chair Mr Roland Driece, of the Netherlands, said WHO Member States remain committed to completing the pandemic agreement process and looked forward to the World Health Assembly considering the progress made on this landmark initiative.
“Clearly there is agreement among governments that the world must forge a new approach to combatting pandemics,” Mr Driece said. “The next steps in this essential process will now be guided by the World Health Assembly.”
According to fellow co-chair Ms. Precious Matsoso of South Africa, there is still work to be done in creating an equitable, generational agreement on how to prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemics. “We cannot lose sight of the task at hand, which is to make sure that the world is better prepared for the upcoming epidemic. To develop global defences, this will need ongoing commitment and action from all sides.
