Dem Staffer Who Filmed His Sexcapades in a Senate Hearing Room Later Checked...
NYC Mayor Eric Adams Tries to Cooperate With ICE. State Judge Stops Him.
Wife of Former Sen. Bob Menendez Found Guilty in Bribery Trial
The Pentagon Leakers Might Want to Lawyer Up
Flawed Study's Ridiculous 'Finding' Gets Called Out by Parkland Victim's Father
How Trump Handled Biggs Entering the AZ Governor's Race After He Already Endorsed...
The White House Responds After Harvard Files Lawsuit Against Trump Administration Over Fun...
Harvard Presidents—On Sale at Macy's
Van Hollen's Post From 2017 on MS-13 Comes Back to Haunt Him
Trump’s Example to the World: Cull Activists to Achieve Energy Abundance
Pope Francis' Cause of Death Has Been Revealed
Homeland Security Sets the Record Straight About Those German Teens Who Were ‘Deported’...
Scott Jennings, Mike Lawler Offer Crucial Reminders About Funding for Harvard in Light...
Dylan Mulvaney Plans on Leaving the US. Here's Where He's Headed.
Exposed: Another Bogus Immigration 'Controversy' Falls Apart
Tipsheet

Effort to Draft WHO Pandemic Treaty Fails

Salvatore Di Nolfi/Keystone via AP

After more than two years of negotiations, World Health Organization member states failed to reach an agreement on a draft global treaty that would fight future pandemics. 

Advertisement

WHO officials had hoped to present the draft at its yearly meeting of health ministers in Geneva this week. 

The accord’s aim was to set guidelines for how the WHO’s 194 member countries might stop future pandemics and better share resources. But experts warned there were virtually no consequences for countries that don’t comply.

The co-chairs of the treaty-drafting process didn’t specify what caused the logjam, but diplomats have said vast differences remained over sharing of information about pathogens that emerge and the sharing of technologies to fight them.

The latest draft had proposed that WHO should get 20% of the production of pandemic-related products like tests, treatments and vaccines and urges countries to disclose their deals with private companies.

Earlier this month, U.S. Republican senators wrote to the Biden administration, arguing that the draft treaty focused on issues like “shredding intellectual property rights” and “supercharging the WHO.” They urged Biden not to sign off.

Britain’s department of health said it would only agree to an accord if it adhered to British national interest and sovereignty.

Meanwhile, many developing countries said it’s unfair that they might be expected to provide virus samples to help develop vaccines and treatments, but then be unable to afford them. (AP)

Advertisement

Despite disagreements over the draft treaty, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus insisted “this is not a failure.” 

“We will try everything — believing that anything is possible — and make this happen because the world still needs a pandemic treaty,” he said. “Because many of the challenges that caused a serious impact during COVID-19 still exist.”

If adopted, WHO member nations would be legally bound by the treaty, which in this case would include policies on pathogen surveillance and scientific data sharing regarding outbreaks, among other issues. 


 

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Recommended

Trending on Townhall Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement