A special working group of the World Health Organization (WHO) is further tinkering with the content of the first version of an international pandemic treaty in Geneva. The treaty must ensure that global crises caused by viruses are prevented by making agreements on, for example, control mechanisms and healthcare capacity. It would be good if there was such a treaty, says Marion Koopmans, professor of Virology at Erasmus University. “We saw during the corona pandemic that things were not going well.”
Robust discussion about WHO international pandemic treaty
5 min 17 sec
The corona pandemic may still be fresh in our minds, but countries do not think the same about tackling a possible new pandemic. Rich countries, poor countries and industry seem to be diametrically opposed to each other. According to Koopmans, the distribution between rich and poor countries is still very skewed and it is that discussion that underlies all consultation points. ‘The basis is also: do we want this to continue or are we going to do it differently?’ Europe and the US are reluctant on a number of issues, including the possibility of releasing vaccine patents if necessary, because then you can start making vaccines anywhere.
National autonomy
There was criticism in the House of Representatives about the way in which the treaty would be rushed through. According to Koopmans, people do not have to be afraid that the WHO will affect the autonomy of countries, the WHO only imposes guidelines and can be critical of national policy, but does not force countries to do anything. ‘Countries are and will remain autonomous in what they do themselves,’ says Koopmans.
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Pandemic preparedness
An example of such a directive that is still subject to much discussion is the extent to which countries must comply with the so-called pandemic preparedness. A guideline that indicates how well countries are prepared for a pandemic and how quickly they can build up sufficient capacity. ‘What many countries stumble over is that there are provisions in the treaty that say that countries with a higher average income must contribute more than countries that can afford less,’ says Koopmans. Countries see this directive as a social premium and are therefore critical of it.
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Despite all the points of discussion, Koopmans believes it is important that an agreement is ultimately reached on the content of the treaty. ‘We have seen that it is really necessary and if agreements are reached, it is important that countries participate in these types of agreements.’ The WHO hopes to present the first version of the treaty to its 194 members at its annual meeting on May 27.
