GENEVA: Countries returned to the negotiating table on Monday for one last chance to conclude an international deal on how to handle future pandemics, with the most expected outcome being a slimmed-down agreement that shelves some of the thorniest issues.
The 194 nations in the World Health Organization (WHO) have come to its Geneva headquarters for a do-or-die round of talks after a two-year effort to seal a landmark accord on prevention, preparedness and response hit a deadline last month with no concrete wording agreed, AFP reported.
The aim of the talks, which run until May 10, is to get a deal ready for adoption at the WHO’s annual assembly of member states, which starts May 27.
In December 2021, the raw sting of the Covid-19 pandemic— which shredded economies, crippled health systems and killed millions — motivated nations to seek a binding framework of commitments aimed at preventing another such catastrophe. But big gaps remain between nations on how to go about it.
What was meant to be the 9th and final round of talks in March saw a 29-page draft swell to more than 100 as nations added proposed amendments.
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body bureau conducting the talks issued a streamlined, 23-page new version on April 22 and wants to bar nations from proposing edits.
Draft Proposal Global Pandemic Deal
The INB will present all 37 articles of the draft deal, and if any nations object, they will be asked to explain their reasons. If no quick fix can be found in the room, member countries will dash off for informal talks to find a solution.
The main disputes revolve around access and equity: access to pathogens detected within nations, access to pandemic-fighting products such as vaccines produced from that knowledge, and equitable distribution of not only counter-pandemic tests, treatments and jabs but the means to produce them.
The new draft focuses on devising the basic framework and parks some of the trickier details in further negotiations planned over the next two years — notably on how a planned WHO Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System will work in practice.
