A historical text aimed at better preparing and fighting against future pandemics was validated Wednesday, after very long consultations. This draft Agreement will be examined at the next world Health Assembly next May.
After more than three years of negotiations, the member countries of the World Health Organization approved by consensus on Wednesday a historic text aimed at better preparing and fighting against future pandemics. “Tonight marks an important step in our common trip to a safer world,” said OMS director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to delegates around 04:00 (02:00GMT). “You have written the story,” he told them.
For WHO, its member states “have taken a big step forward in the efforts aimed at making the world safer against the pandemics, by drawing up a draft agreement which will be examined at the next World Health Assembly in May”. It took a last day and night of negotiation, before the entire text was validated. “We topped at 1:58 am” (shortly before 00gmt), a delegate told AFP, while the WHO prepared champagne.
“By reaching a consensus on the agreement on the pandemic, not only did they set up a generational agreement to make the world safer, but they also demonstrated that multilateralism is alive, and that in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground and a shared response to common threats,” noted Tedros.
Five years after the arrival of the COVID-19, its millions of deaths and a devastated world economy, the agreement must make it possible to better prepare the world, far from being equipped to face another pandemic, according to WHO and experts. Negotiations – at a hybrid conference – had however advanced more slowly than expected Tuesday, after three days of break, driving mainly to the end on the transfer of technologies for the production of health products linked to pandemias, in particular for the benefit of developing countries.
The subject had been at the heart of the many grievances in the poorest countries during the Cavid-19 pandemic, when they saw the rich countries grab the doses of vaccine and other tests. Several countries, where the pharmaceutical industry weighs heavily in the economy, are opposed to the idea of obligation of transfer and insist on its voluntary nature. A consensus finally emerged around the principle of technology transfer “agreed by mutual agreement”.
Considered one of the central parts of the text, the latter also provides for the creation of a “system of access to pathogens and benefits of advantages” (Pabs in English), namely health products arising from their use, such as vaccines or tests for example. The text also aims to expand access to these products by establishing a global network of supply and logistics chain.
-“This is a historic agreement for health security, equity and international solidarity,” said Anne-Claire Amprou, co-chair of the French negotiation body and French health ambassador.
“It is adopted,” she said, under a thunderous applause, saying that he was moved and tired.
With regard to the implementation of the agreement, the main organization of the pharmaceutical sector has emphasized intellectual property and legal security, deeming them essential if the industry was to invest in very risky research financially during the next crisis.
“We hope that during the subsequent negotiations, the Member States will maintain the conditions allowing the private sector to continue to innovate against pathogens likely to cause a pandemic,” said David Reddy, director general of the International Federation of the Medicines Industry, who participated in negotiations.
The WHO chief came to join the negotiators at the end of the day on Tuesday, and took the opportunity to address the press. For him the text is “balanced” and brings “more equity”. Negotiations took place in a context of multilateralism crisis and the global health system, caused by drastic cuts in American international aid decided by President Donald Trump, while the United States was by far the main humanitarian donor. They were also absent from the negotiations, the American president who decided that they left the organization.
“At a time when multilateralism is threatened, the WHO member states united to say that we will defeat the next threat of pandemic in the sole possible way: by working together,” said Helen Clark, co-president of the group of independent experts for preparation and response to pandemics.
Sami Nemli with agencies / eco inspirations
