In a new draft agreement — currently under negotiation — the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday urged rich countries to take the lead in equipping the world for health emergencies, as it called on global Called the response to COVID-19 “a catastrophic failure at the international community level”.
The document states that countries with greater “capacity and resources” should demonstrate “commensurate” responsibility for addressing and responding to global health threats.
The legally binding agreement, negotiated by WHO member states, aims to address the issue of global pandemic response as it “destroys” the international community’s ability to fairly fight COVID-19 around the world. What a failure”.
According to WHO estimates, COVID-19 has killed nearly 7 million people globally since it was first reported from a Chinese wet market in Wuhan in late 2019.
It spread in a way that brought the world to a standstill, disrupting the global economy and destroying communities.
Official estimates also suggest that more than 750 million people worldwide are also affected.
The document defines an “epidemic disease” as “the global spread of a pathogen or variant” that spreads easily, is dangerous, overwhelms health systems, and requires international coordination.
On the sidelines of WHO’s annual assembly in Geneva, US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Bacera said countries would stick to the current negotiation timeline and adopt the agreement at the same meeting next year.
“We feel good. America is ready,” he told reporters, adding that the next global health threat “may not be far away.”
Initially, the United States was somewhat skeptical of legally binding treaties, and some Republicans lobbied against it.
The 42-page document was sent to member states and non-governmental organizations on Tuesday.
It was developed based on the recommendations of Member States responding to the previous version of the text.
Member States reserve the right to remove several paragraphs from it in future negotiations, including a paragraph on obligations. The next round of talks is scheduled for June.
Some parts written into earlier drafts, such as intellectual property and reserving 20 percent of tests, treatments and vaccines for WHO to distribute to poor countries during emergencies, could still be removed.
There were no provisions on countermeasures to be implemented during the COVID pandemic.