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When a pandemic strikes, everyone is vulnerable.
World Health Assembly agrees to launch negotiations for an agreement to fight pandemics
On 1 December 2021, the 194 members of the World Health Organization (WHO) reached consensus to kickstart the process to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument under the Constitution of the World Health Organization to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
An intergovernmental negotiating body will now be constituted and hold its first meeting by 1 March 2022 (to agree on ways of working and timelines) and its second by 1 August 2022 (to discuss progress on a working draft). It will then deliver a progress report to the 76th World Health Assembly in 2023, with the aim to adopt the instrument by 2024.
Why an international pandemic instrument?
The COVID-19 pandemic is a global challenge. No single government or institution can address the threat of future pandemics alone.
A convention, agreement or other international instrument is legally binding under international law. An agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response adopted under the World Health Organization (WHO) would enable countries around the globe to strengthen national, regional and global capacities and resilience to future pandemics.
Such an instrument would also:
- ensure higher, sustained and long-term political engagement at the level of world leaders of states or governments
- define clear processes and tasks
- enhance long-term public and private-sector support at all levels
- foster integration of health matters across all relevant policy areas
We need to create an environment where every scientist, health worker, and government can band together for a common cause. Working together to build new solutions to protect what is most precious – our health and our lives.
Charles Michel, President of the European Council at World Health Summit, 25 October 2021
What’s the purpose of an international agreement on pandemics?
The proposal for an international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response is guided by a spirit of collective solidarity, anchored in the principles of fairness, inclusiveness and transparency.
Neither individual governments nor the global community can entirely prevent pandemics. But the international community needs to be much better prepared and better aligned in responding to possible future pandemics across the entire cycle of detection, alarm and response.
The instrument would set out the objectives and fundamental principles in order to structure the necessary collective action to fight pandemics.
An international convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemics would support and focus on:
- early detection and prevention of pandemics
- resilience to future pandemics
- response to any future pandemics, in particular by ensuring universal and equitable access to medical solutions, such as vaccines, medicines and diagnostics
- a stronger international health framework with the WHO as the coordinating authority on global health matters
- the “One Health” approach, connecting the health of humans, animals and our planet
More specifically, such an instrument can enhance international cooperation in a number of priority areas, such as surveillance, alerts and response, but also in general trust in the international health system.
Infographic – 10 incentives and benefits of an international treaty on pandemics
What are the main incentives and benefits?
Better surveillance of pandemic risks
The monitoring of risks and, in particular, knowledge-sharing on new infectio
