BREAKING: Trump Announces Major Ceasefire News
Trump Responds to Iran’s Latest Missile Attack
Pro-Illegal Alien Libs Are Going to Be Gutted by Today's Supreme Court Decision
30,000 Pounds of Consequences, What the Iranian Nuclear Program Just Got Hit With
From Wall Street to Marx Street, NYC Flirts With Socialism
Hours After Trump Declares Ceasefire, Iran Denies Agreement, Blames Israel for Starting Wa...
Scarborough Shocks Viewers with Rare Defense of Trump’s Iran Strike: 'Any President Would'...
Georgetown Professor Sparks Outrage After Saying He 'Hopes' Iran Strikes U.S. Base
Biden Ally Admits Only Trump Had the Guts to Strike Iran, Something He...
'Not a Time for Politics': Speaker Mike Johnson Opposes War Powers Resolution
Vulnerable Dem Exposed: Defund-the-Police Ally Lies About Trump’s Bill, Tries to Hide Radi...
Trump Promises to Campaign Against Rep. Thomas Massie, Who Criticized Iran Strike
Fetterman Pushes Back on AOC's Call for Impeachment Over Iran Strikes
Former Ambassador to Israel: Regime Change Needs to Be From Within Iran
The Iranian Regime Stands at the Precipice
Tipsheet

Effort to Draft WHO Pandemic Treaty Fails

Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP

After more than two years of negotiations, World Health Organization member states failed to reach an agreement on a draft global treaty that would fight future pandemics. 

Advertisement

WHO officials had hoped to present the draft at its yearly meeting of health ministers in Geneva this week. 

The accord’s aim was to set guidelines for how the WHO’s 194 member countries might stop future pandemics and better share resources. But experts warned there were virtually no consequences for countries that don’t comply.

The co-chairs of the treaty-drafting process didn’t specify what caused the logjam, but diplomats have said vast differences remained over sharing of information about pathogens that emerge and the sharing of technologies to fight them.

The latest draft had proposed that WHO should get 20% of the production of pandemic-related products like tests, treatments and vaccines and urges countries to disclose their deals with private companies.

Earlier this month, U.S. Republican senators wrote to the Biden administration, arguing that the draft treaty focused on issues like “shredding intellectual property rights” and “supercharging the WHO.” They urged Biden not to sign off.

Britain’s department of health said it would only agree to an accord if it adhered to British national interest and sovereignty.

Meanwhile, many developing countries said it’s unfair that they might be expected to provide virus samples to help develop vaccines and treatments, but then be unable to afford them. (AP)

Advertisement

Despite disagreements over the draft treaty, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted “this is not a failure.” 

“We will try everything — believing that anything is possible — and make this happen because the world still needs a pandemic treaty,” he said. “Because many of the challenges that caused a serious impact during COVID-19 still exist.”

If adopted, WHO member nations would be legally bound by the treaty, which in this case would include policies on pathogen surveillance and scientific data sharing regarding outbreaks, among other issues. 


 

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement