Nations Work to Create ‘Pandemic Treaty’ to Learn from COVID Errors

Leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak, years after the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on economies and claimed millions of lives.

A final round of talks to finalize a “pandemic treaty” is set to conclude on Friday, with the aim of providing guidelines for how WHO’s 194 member countries can prevent future pandemics and improve the sharing of scarce resources. However, experts caution that there are little to no consequences for countries that fail to comply with the accord.

The draft treaty, which has faced criticism from U.S. Republican senators and demands for national sovereignty from countries like Britain, seeks to address the disparities in access to vaccines and treatments between rich and poor nations. It proposes that WHO should receive a portion of pandemic-related products’ production and urges countries to disclose their deals with private companies.

Despite the lofty goals of the treaty, some experts believe that it fails to account for political realities and lacks mechanisms to enforce compliance. With legally binding obligations already in place under the International Health Regulations, the effectiveness of the proposed treaty remains uncertain.

As countries continue to grapple with the aftermath of the pandemic, the need for a coordinated global response to future outbreaks becomes increasingly urgent. Whether the pandemic treaty will succeed in bridging the gaps in preparedness and response remains to be seen, but the stakes are high as the world faces the looming threat of another devastating health crisis.