Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 23rd Jan. Head of the World health agency on Monday raised concerns that the draft on a global agreement to future pandemic in in jeopardy and may not be finalized by May this year, in a press release issued in New York
WHO chief Mr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addressed the WHO Executive Board when he said that “several outstanding issues” still needed to be resolved by governments and that time was “very short” to find consensus.
“A failure to deliver the pandemic agreement and the International Health Regulations amendments will be a missed opportunity for which future generations may not forgive us,” Tedros said.
He warned that agreement by Member States to start a process to draft and negotiate a “convention, agreement or other international instrument” to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, after the huge loss of life caused by COVID-19.
Such agreements made between countries have legal standing and are binding, he noted.
WHO has emphasized that a proposed pandemic convention would be driven by the need to ensure equity of access to tools that can stop pandemics in their tracks including vaccines, personal protective equipment, information and expertise and access to healthcare for everyone.
