Health
WHO meeting starts without agreement on pandemic treaty
The World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva. Photo
© Xinhua/dpa
The WHO annual meeting was supposed to be a celebration, but the planned pandemic agreement has failed for now. Nevertheless, there is still a lot of work to be done.
Following the setback of the failed agreement on a pandemic treaty, the 77th Annual Assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO). Under the motto “Everything for Health – Health for All”, the 194 member countries want to set guidelines for WHO priorities for the next four years. The assembly is the highest decision-making body of the organization.
Among other things, it concerns the WHO plan to eliminate malaria in numerous countries by 2030 and steps to combat the alarming increase in antibiotic-resistant organisms, which are life-threatening for many patients. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) was present at the launch in Geneva.
Planned celebration cancelled
The planned highlight of the assembly, the ceremonial signing of a pandemic agreement, falls through because the negotiators were unable to agree on a generally accepted text after a good two years of negotiations. Among other things, it remained controversial how scarce goods such as protective materials, medicines and vaccines can be fairly distributed worldwide in times of pandemics. The assembly is now to decide how to continue with the negotiations.
Reform should better avert dangers
Nevertheless, lessons should be learned from the corona pandemic. A reform of the International Health Regulations (IHR) was well underway and was to be adopted during the assembly. These are binding rules and obligations of member states in the event of threats to public health. They are intended to help prevent or combat the spread of diseases across national borders. These include, among other things, the obligation to monitor diseases and to report unusual occurrences immediately to the WHO.
More clarity in health crises
However, the corona pandemic has shown weaknesses. The WHO can currently declare a “public health emergency of international concern” as the highest warning level in the event of danger. It is a cumbersome term, and the word pandemic does not appear in the health regulations to date. That is to change. There will also be regular reviews of how countries implement their obligations in order to be truly prepared in the event of a crisis.