Talks between World Health Organization member states on a landmark global accord on handling future pandemics will take until 2025 after it was found that there were still too many gaps to seal a deal this year.
Although the emergence of a new strain of mpox, the deadly Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda, and the spread of H5N1 bird flu in recent months have given the talks a timely jolt, key gaps in the negotiations remain, particularly between Western nations with major pharmaceutical industry sectors and poorer countries who do not want to be sidelined when the next pandemic strikes.
In December 2021, fearing a repeat of the devastation wrought by COVID-19 – which killed millions of people, crippled health systems, and crashed economies – countries decided to draft a new accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.
While much of the text has been agreed, disputes remain over some key provisions, notably over sharing access to pathogens with pandemic potential, and then equitably sharing the benefits derived from them, such as vaccines, tests, and treatments. Talks are also stuck on surveillance and protection, as well as technology transfer to poorer states.
In June, at the annual World Health Assembly, countries gave themselves until the next assembly in May 2025 to conclude and adopt the agreement, and to get it done by the end of the year if possible.
Talks go-chair Precious Matsoso said that all countries want to be better prepared and prevent the next disaster from happening. “We are actually closer on some issues than we think… a clear opportunity exists for a middle ground,” she said.
“Our biggest fear though is that when the next pandemic happens, it will be more severe than what we experienced with COVID-19”
Our collective experience with the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for those countries that were among the worst affected like the Philippines, should serve as a very fresh warning to our leaders of the impact of a similar, or God forbid worse, situation. This is something our leaders and negotiators have to consider as they work on that landmark global accord that could and should be humanity’s weapon and shield against another pandemic that could bring us back to our knees with another fell swoop.
Let us hope that they can find a good middle ground to agree on so we can move forward with less fear and more optimism that as far as the threats of pandemics are concerned, we have equipped our societies better than before.*
