Making the world pandemic-ready

The agreement on the draft pandemic treaty arrived at by countries under the auspices of the World Health Organisation (WHO) is an important event in the history of the world’s fight against pandemics. The draft treaty was finalised by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body in Geneva last week after about four years of talks, and it is set to be adopted by the World Health Assembly. It contains a series of measures to prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemics. The move is considered to mark “a definitive moment in the history of global health.” It is expected to be signed by all WHO members except the US which withdrew from the negotiations the day President Trump was sworn in. The withdrawal of the US has reduced the power of the agreement, but the rest of the world attaches much significance to it, having gone through the Covid-19 ordeal.

The move for a treaty that would help the world deal with pandemics started during the Covid period. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body was set up in December 2021. There were serious differences of opinion over many provisions, especially over the exchange of scientific information and equitable allocation of medical preventives and antidotes. While the developed countries wanted instant access to scientific data, those from the Global South wanted such information-sharing to be linked to the rapid provision of vaccines, diagnostics, and drugs. They insisted on such a linkage because of their experience during Covid when low- and middle-income countries were discriminated against in the distribution of vaccines and medicines. Both sides have made compromises during the negotiations and the draft seems to have accommodated the needs and concerns of both.

The agreement provides for better protection of healthcare workers. It outlines a ‘pathogen access and benefit sharing’ system which gives pharmaceutical companies access to scientific data such as pathogen samples and genomic sequences in return for more equitable sharing of drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics. The details of how this system works are yet to be decided. But it says that the sharing of information should be “rapid and timely” and that the manufacturers must make at least 20% of the vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics available to the WHO during a pandemic. The treaty takes a holistic view of health in the natural world and asks countries to take steps to reduce the risks of pathogens jumping from animals to humans. It provides for the development of stronger national health systems, a co-ordinating financial mechanism, and a global supply chain and logistics network. The treaty will hopefully help the world avert a situation such as the one triggered by the Covid pandemic.