{"id":58372,"date":"2024-05-24T22:34:14","date_gmt":"2024-05-24T22:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/24\/countries-fail-to-agree-on-treaty-to-prepare-the-world-for-the-next-pandemic\/"},"modified":"2024-05-24T22:34:15","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T22:34:15","slug":"countries-fail-to-agree-on-treaty-to-prepare-the-world-for-the-next-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/24\/countries-fail-to-agree-on-treaty-to-prepare-the-world-for-the-next-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Countries Fail to Agree on Treaty to Prepare the World for the Next Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/24\/science\/24pandemic-treaty-01\/24pandemic-treaty-01-facebookJumbo.jpg?resize=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Countries Fail to Agree on Treaty to Prepare the World for the Next Pandemic\" title=\"Countries Fail to Agree on Treaty to Prepare the World for the Next Pandemic\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Countries around the globe have failed to reach consensus on the terms of a treaty that would unify the world in a strategy against the inevitable next pandemic, trumping the nationalist ethos that emerged during Covid-19.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The deliberations, which were scheduled to be a central item at the weeklong meeting of the <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/about\/accountability\/governance\/world-health-assembly\/seventy-seventh\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">World Health Assembly<\/a> beginning Monday in Geneva, aimed to correct the inequities in access to vaccines and treatments between wealthier nations and poorer ones that became glaringly apparent during the Covid pandemic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Although much of the urgency around Covid has faded since the treaty negotiations began two years ago, public health experts are still acutely aware of the pandemic potential of emerging pathogens, familiar threats like bird flu and mpox, and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nationalacademies.org\/our-work\/current-state-of-research-development-and-stockpiling-of-smallpox-medical-countermeasures\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">once-vanquished<\/a> diseases like smallpox.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThose of us in public health recognize that another pandemic really could be around the corner,\u201d said Loyce Pace, an assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, who oversees the negotiations in her role as the United States liaison to the World Health Organization.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Negotiators had hoped to adopt the treaty next week. But canceled meetings and fractious debates \u2014 sometimes over a single word \u2014 stalled agreement on key sections, including equitable access to vaccines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The negotiating body plans to ask for more time to continue the discussions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI\u2019m still optimistic,\u201d said Dr. Jean Kaseya, director general of Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. \u201cI think the continent wants this agreement. I think the world wants this agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Once adopted, the treaty would set legally binding policies for member countries of the W.H.O., including the United States, on surveillance of pathogens, rapid sharing of outbreak data, and local manufacturing and supply chains for vaccines and treatments, among others.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Contrary to rhetoric from some politicians in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/cbsaustin.com\/news\/nation-world\/republican-governors-sign-letter-opposing-who-treaty-world-health-organization-proposed-pandemic-agreement-states-gop-global-authority-public-health\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">the United States<\/a> and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/politics\/article\/2024\/may\/16\/who-accuses-nigel-farage-of-spreading-misinformation-about-pandemic-treaty\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Britain<\/a>, it would not enable the W.H.O. to dictate national policies on masking, or use armed troops to enforce lockdowns and vaccine mandates.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Next week\u2019s deadline was self-imposed, and some public health experts have said it was far too ambitious \u2014 most treaties take many years \u2014 for such a complex endeavor. But negotiators were scrambling to ratify the treaty before elections in the United States and multiple European countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cDonald Trump is in the room,\u201d said Lawrence Gostin, director of the W.H.O. Center on Global Health Law, who has helped to draft and negotiate the treaty.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIf Trump is elected, he will likely torpedo the negotiations and even withdraw from W.H.O.,\u201d Mr. Gostin said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">During his tenure as president, Mr. Trump <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/07\/07\/us\/politics\/coronavirus-trump-who.html\" title=\"\">severed ties with the W.H.O.<\/a>, and he has recently signaled that, if re-elected, he <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/time.com\/6972022\/donald-trump-transcript-2024-election\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">might shutter<\/a> the White House pandemic preparedness office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Among the biggest bones of contention in the draft treaty is a section called Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing, under which countries would be required to swiftly share genetic sequences and samples of emerging pathogens. This information is crucial for rapid development of diagnostic tests, vaccines and treatments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Low-income nations, including those in Africa, want to be compensated for the information with quick and equitable access to the developed tests, vaccines and treatments. They have also asked that pharmaceutical manufacturers share information that would allow local companies to manufacture the products at low cost.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe don\u2019t want to see Western countries coming to collect pathogens, going with pathogens, making medicines, making vaccines, without sending back to us these benefits,\u201d Dr. Kaseya said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Member countries have only ever agreed to one other health treaty, the 2003 <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/fctc.who.int\/who-fctc\/overview\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Framework Convention on Tobacco Control<\/a>, which strengthened control of the tobacco industry and decreased smoking rates in participating countries. But they were jolted by the devastation of the Covid pandemic and the inequities it reinforced to embark on a second.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The countries are also working on bolstering the W.H.O.\u2019s International Health Regulations, which were last revised in 2005 and set detailed rules for countries to follow in the event of an outbreak that may breach borders.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In May 2021, an <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/theindependentpanel.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Summary_COVID-19-Make-it-the-Last-Pandemic_final.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">independent review<\/a> of the global reaction to Covid-19 \u201cfound weak links at every point in the chain of preparedness and response.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The pandemic also deepened mistrust between wealthier nations and poorer ones. By the end of 2021, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41591-022-02064-y\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">more than 90 percent<\/a> of people in some high-income countries had received two doses of Covid vaccines, compared with less than 2 percent in low-income nations. The lack of access to vaccines is thought to have caused more than a million deaths in low-income nations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The treaty would be an acknowledgment of sorts that an outbreak anywhere threatens the entire globe, and that providing vaccines and other resources is beneficial to everyone. Variants of the coronavirus that emerged in countries with large unvaccinated populations swiftly swept across the world.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cNearly half of U.S. deaths came from variants, so it\u2019s in everybody\u2019s interest to have a strong accord,\u201d said Peter Maybarduk, who directs Public Citizen\u2019s Access to Medicines program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In December 2021, the W.H.O. established <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"http:\/\/inb.who.int\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a group of negotiators<\/a> to develop a legally binding treaty that would enable every country to prevent, detect and control epidemics, and allow for equitable allocation of vaccines and drugs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">More than two years into the negotiations, negotiators have agreed, at least in principle, on some sections of the draft.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But much of the good will generated during Covid has evaporated, and national interests have returned to the fore. Countries like Switzerland and the United States have been reluctant to accept terms that may affect the pharmaceutical industry; others like Argentina have fought against strict regulations on meat exports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s evident that people have very short memories,\u201d said Dr. Sharon Lewin, director of the Cumming Global Center for Pandemic Therapeutics in Melbourne.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cBut it can happen again, and it can happen with a pathogen that is far trickier to deal with than Covid was,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One proposal for the Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing section would require manufacturers to set aside 10 percent of vaccines to be donated, and another 10 percent to be provided at cost to the W.H.O. for distribution to low-income nations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But that idea proved to be too complicated, said Roland Driece, who is one of the leaders of the negotiations. \u201cWe found along the way that that was too ambitious in the time frame.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Instead, a working group established by the World Health Assembly will be tasked with hammering out the details of that section by May 2026, Mr. Driece said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The terms of the proposed agreement have generated some confusion. In Britain, Nigel Farage, the conservative broadcaster and populist politician, and some other conservative politicians have claimed that the W.H.O. would force richer countries to give away 20 percent of their vaccines.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But that is an incorrect reading of the proposed agreement, Mr. Driece said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the countries that have to come up with those vaccines, it\u2019s the companies,\u201d he said. Pharmaceutical companies would commit to the system in exchange for guaranteed access to data and samples needed to make their products.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Britain will not sign the treaty unless \u201cit is firmly in the U.K. national interest and respects national sovereignty,\u201d a spokesperson for the country\u2019s health department <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/uk\/uk-refuses-sign-global-vaccine-treaty-telegraph-reports-2024-05-08\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">told Reuters<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the United States, Republican senators have demanded that the Biden administration reject the treaty because it would <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cassidy.senate.gov\/newsroom\/press-releases\/cassidy-johnson-senate-gop-demand-biden-reject-unacceptable-who-agreements\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cpotentially weaken U.S. sovereignty.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, W.H.O.\u2019s director general, has roundly criticized what he called the \u201cthe litany of lies and conspiracy theories,\u201d noting that the organization does not have the authority to dictate national public health policies, nor does it seek such power.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The secrecy surrounding the negotiations has made it difficult to counter misinformation, said James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International, one of the few nonprofits with a window into the negotiations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Having more people allowed into the discussion rooms or to see the drafts as they evolve would help clarify complicated aspects of the treaty, Mr. Love said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cAlso, the public could relax a bit if they\u2019re actually reading the actual agreement on a regular basis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some proposals in the draft treaty would require massive investments, another sticking point in the negotiations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">To monitor emerging pathogens, wealthier nations endorse a so-called One Health strategy, which recognizes the interconnections between people, animals, plants and their shared environment. They want low-income countries to regulate live animal markets and limit trade in animal products \u2014 a big economic blow for some nations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last month, the Biden administration released its own <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Global-Health-Security-Strategy-2024-1.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">strategy for global health security<\/a>, with a focus on <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.state.gov\/united-states-global-health-security-partnerships\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">bilateral partnerships<\/a> aimed at helping 50 countries bolster their pandemic response systems. The administration hopes to expand the list to 100 countries by the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">American support would help the countries, most of which are in Asia and Africa, strengthen their One Health systems and better manage outbreaks.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The U.S. strategy is meant to be complementary to the global treaty, and cannot serve as an alternative, public health experts said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIn my view, this is the most important moment in global health since W.H.O. was founded in 1948,\u201d Mr. Gostin said. \u201cIt would just be an unforgivable tragedy if we let this slip away after all the suffering of Covid.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/05\/24\/health\/pandemic-treaty-vaccines.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Countries around the globe have failed to reach consensus on the terms of a treaty that would unify the world in a strategy against the inevitable next pandemic, trumping the nationalist ethos that emerged during Covid-19. The deliberations, which were scheduled to be a central item at the weeklong meeting of the World Health Assembly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":58373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/05\/24\/science\/24pandemic-treaty-01\/24pandemic-treaty-01-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3748,245,12037,2603,8026,24108,1052],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58372"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58372"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58372\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58374,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58372\/revisions\/58374"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}