After the economic turmoil and millions of lives lost during the coronavirus crisis has triggered calls for new international defenses strong enough to prevent such a disaster in the future, 194 member states of the World Health Organization decided in December to launch the negotiating and drafting process for a new international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
When the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body recently held its second meeting in Geneva, the INB members agreed through consensus that a new international accord should be legally binding.
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the decision, saying it would safeguard families and communities. “The importance of a legally binding instrument cannot be overstated: it will be our collective legacy for future generations,” he said.
The INB is aiming to ensure better preparedness and a more equitable response for future pandemics, aiming to conclude the agreement by May 2024. Many hurdles have to be cleared, including how far countries are prepared to go in terms of commitments on issues like equitable vaccine distribution, knowledge sharing, financing, oversight structures and powers to investigate outbreaks, which could be a key issue down the line.
After what the world has been through with COVID-19, there is no doubt that the international community needs better defenses to prevent another devastating pandemic. As the world’s nations think up of ways to better protect humanity, making such measures legally binding could give us a better chance to respond appropriately if and when the time comes.
The human race wasted two years, lost millions of lives, and spent billions on care, treatment and vaccines because we failed to prevent the coronavirus outbreaks and then respond appropriately when the outbreaks gathered steam and turned into a pandemic. All the lessons we learned during that time will be worth nothing if our world leaders cannot be compelled to act as one when the next one rears its ugly head.*
