WHO states agree on worldwide pandemic agreements-Diepresse.com
After more than three years of negotiations, the WHO members achieve a fundamental cleaning. A formal farewell to the agreement is planned for the end of May. This is intended to better prepare the world for crises such as corona pandemic.
For more than three years, members of the World Health Organization (WHO) have been negotiating an international agreement to prevent pandemics – now a fundamental cleaning has been achieved. « This is a gift to our children and our grandchildren, » said WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Saturday after an almost 24-hour marathon session. With the agreement, the world is to be better prepared for crises such as Corona pandemic.
« We have a fundamental cleaning, » said Ko negotiator Anne-Claire Ambrou of the AFP news agency in Geneva. The negotiators now wanted to meet again on Tuesday and say goodbye to the final text. In addition, the governments of the WHO member states would have to agree. The agreement will then be formally adopted at the general assembly of the more than 190 Member States of the UN organization at the end of May.
Decision in December 2021
The decision to develop a pandemic agreement was made by the WHO member states in December 2021 to draw teachings from the corona crisis. The negotiations, however, went endlessly, and new rounds had to be scheduled. The breakthrough now succeeded in a marathon session in Geneva, which continues from Friday and over the night, in which the WHO boss also stayed in the hall. « They are part of an incredible story that just gets rolling, » he congratulated the penchant after setting on Saturday.
According to AFP information, one of the main main accumulation in the approximately 30-page draft of the contract was the transfer of technologies for the production of vaccines or other health products in pandemics. Latin American countries in particular have urged to make this transfer easier, it was said from negotiation circles. Several other states in which the pharmaceutical industry is an important economic factor, on the other hand, refused the idea of mandatory transfers and insisted on their voluntariness. This dispute has now been solved, said a negotiation participant on Saturday morning. However, the agreed text was initially not published.
Missing knowledge transfer on Corona criticized
The lack of technology and knowledge transfer was sharply criticized by poorer countries during the Corona pandemic: While rich countries had vaccines and corona test sets in large quantities, poorer states were empty and could not act effectively against pandemic.
According to the UN organization, at least 20 million people died through the Corona pandemic. Countermeasures such as Lockdowns and travel restrictions caused serious economic damage. The health systems were also not prepared for pandemic: for a long time a lack of vaccine hindered the fight against the coronavirus.
Agreement should bring clear rules
In order to be better prepared for future health crises and to be able to react faster and more specifically in the pandemic case, the elaboration of a pandemic agreement was agreed. It should create clear rules in the areas of prevention, precaution and reaction.
However, the agreement already has a weak point: the United States is not there – President Donald Trump had declared his country’s withdrawal from the WHO after his re -entry into the White House. (APA/AFP)
