World Health Assembly adopts historic pandemic treaty,

The World Health Assembly (WHA) at its 78th Session today adopted the historic Pandemic Agreement to make the world more equitable and safer from future pandemics. The agreement’s adoption comes after three years of intensive negotiations launched due to gaps and inequities identified in national and global Covid-19 responses.

The Pandemic Treaty seeks to boost global collaboration to ensure stronger, more equitable response to future pandemics through the equitable and timely access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.

Responding to the developments at WHA, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the Assembly virtually, said, “The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body Treaty is a shared commitment to fighting future pandemics through greater global cooperation.” He also said the health of the world depended on how well nations cared for the most vulnerable.

“The Global South is particularly impacted by health challenges and India’s approach offers replicable, scalable and sustainable models...The future of a healthy world depends on inclusion, integrated vision and collaboration,” the PM said, referring to India’s subsidised public pharmacies and Ayushman Bharat scheme, the world’s largest health insurance scheme, which covers 580 million people with free hospitalisation up to Rs 5 lakh annually. The programme was recently expanded to cover all Indians above 70 years.

He said the theme of the World Health Assembly this year ‘One World for Health’ resonates with India’s vision for global health and mentioned the upcoming 11th International Day of Yoga, whose theme is ‘Yoga for One Earth, One Health’. While building a healthy planet, let us ensure that no one is left behind, Modi told the assembly.

Back in Geneva, the WHO announced that the next steps about the Pandemic treaty included negotiations on the pathogen access and benefits sharing system.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, noted that the agreement was a victory for public health, science and multilateral action.

“It will ensure we, collectively, can better protect the world from future pandemic threats. It is also a recognition by the international community that our citizens, societies and economies must not be left vulnerable to again suffer losses like those endured during Covid-19,” he added.

Governments adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement in a plenary session of the World Health Assembly, WHO’s peak decision-making body.

The adoption followed yesterday’s approval of the agreement by vote (124 in favour, 0 objections, 11 abstentions) in committee by member state delegations.

The vote was called earlier by a vaccine sceptical Slovakia. None of the nations voted against the treaty, but 11, including Poland, Israel, Italy, Iran, Russia and Slovakia, abstained.

The WHO DG said now that the agreement had been adopted, the world must act with the same urgency to implement its critical elements, including systems, to ensure equitable access to life-saving pandemic-related health products.

“As Covid was once-in-a-lifetime emergency, the WHO Pandemic Agreement offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build on lessons learnt from that crisis and ensure people worldwide are better protected if a future pandemic emerges,” Ghebreyesus said.

What the treaty does

The WHO Pandemic Agreement sets out the principles, approaches and tools for better international coordination across a range of areas, in order to strengthen the global health architecture for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

What next

The resolution on the WHO Pandemic Agreement adopted by the World Health Assembly sets out steps to prepare for the accord’s implementation. It includes launching a process to draft and negotiate a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS) through an Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG). The result of this process will be considered at next year’s World Health Assembly. Once the Assembly adopts the PABS annex, the WHO Pandemic Agreement will then be open for signature and consideration of ratification, including by national legislative bodies. After 60 ratifications, the agreement will enter into force.