Pandemic treaty would be historic for global health security

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the World Health Assembly meeting on May 21.

AFP reported that World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on May 21 that the pandemic treaty being negotiated is a "historic agreement" that marks a dramatic change in the approach to global health security after Covid-19.

"We cannot continue as before," Mr. Tedros said at the opening of the WHO's annual meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.

WHO member states have begun negotiations on an international agreement to ensure the world is better equipped to prevent or respond more effectively when the next pandemic strikes.

Negotiations are still at an early stage, but the goal is to reach an agreement in time for the next World Health Assembly in May 2024.

"The pandemic treaty that member states are negotiating must be a historic agreement that transforms global health security," said Mr. Tedros.

This was also the message of other global leaders on May 21.

"I hope the current talks on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response will lead to a strong multilateral approach to save lives," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at the video conference.

Meanwhile, East Timor President Jose Manuel Ramos-Horta pointed out that "every country, big or small, rich or poor, is struggling to come up with an appropriate response to the pandemic".

“This reminds us that we have to build our house before the storm, not during the storm,” Ramos-Horta added.

The Covid-19 pandemic has ravaged the world, killing nearly 7 million people according to official figures. However, the actual death toll is believed to be closer to 20 million.

Earlier this month, Mr Tedros declared that Covid-19 was no longer a global health emergency.

However, Mr. Tedros emphasized on May 21 that "Covid-19 is still with us and causing more deaths. The pandemic is still changing and it still needs our attention."

"We may be out of a long, dark tunnel. But it is time to look back and remember the darkness of the tunnel and move forward in the light of the many painful lessons the darkness has taught us," said the WHO director-general.

“The most important lesson among them is that we can only face common threats with a common response,” Mr. Tedros concluded.

If negotiations are successful, the pandemic treaty would be the second legally binding health agreement signed since the WHO was founded 75 years ago.

In his speech, Mr. Tedros also emphasized the success of the first convention - the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, adopted 20 years ago.

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