2024-05-11 11:28:36
There was no agreement among the 194 member countries on the WHO pandemic agreement. There was resistance, among others, from the pharmaceutical industry in some countries.
The agreement was intended to prevent global chaos like the corona pandemic and ensure that all countries are supplied with all the necessary protective material, medicines and vaccines in a timely manner. But for now there has been no breakthrough in the planned pandemic agreement of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Member countries could not come to an agreement
The negotiations were actually supposed to be completed by Friday evening so that the agreement can be adopted at the WHO annual meeting at the end of May/beginning of June. However, after two years of negotiations, the 194 WHO member countries were ultimately unable to agree on a common text.
Aid organizations and countries fear that the contract in its current draft does not guarantee care for the most vulnerable. In richer countries there was resistance from the pharmaceutical industry and from critics who falsely claimed that the WHO wanted to decide whether to impose lockdowns or compulsory vaccinations in the event of a pandemic. It was controversial, for example, to what extent medicines or vaccines should be made available to poorer countries free of charge or at low prices.
There remains little hope for a timely agreement
However, hope for a successful outcome by the time of the WHO annual meeting has not yet been completely given up. It was vaguely said that the countries wanted to continue their talks in the next two weeks. However, diplomats in Geneva doubt that a document ready for signature will actually be produced before the start of the conference on May 27th. “I welcome the determination with which all countries want to continue their work and fulfill the mission they have taken on,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.