O The extension of the deadline decided today by the 194 WHO member countries, which were unable to reach a definitive agreement at this year’s meeting, is being advanced by the Spanish news agency EFE.
However, the WHO says that member states have managed to reform the International Health Regulations (IHR), which is also used to coordinate countries in the event of a global health crisis.
After two years of negotiations, the WHO was unable to finalize the agreement on pandemics because there are “still insurmountable differences” on issues such as the marketing and distribution of vaccines, treatments and diagnostics, according to EFE.
“The decision to conclude the Agreement on Pandemics within a year shows the strong will of the countries and the urgency of the issue, because the question is not whether there will be a pandemic in the future, but rather when it will come,” said the WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Thus, WHO members decided to extend the mandate, estimating that an agreement will be signed at the 78th ordinary assembly of the WHO, which will take place in mid-2025, or, if negotiations are accelerated, at an extraordinary session of the agency in end of this year or the beginning of next.
With regard to the reform of the International Health Regulations, it will introduce a clearer definition of when a “pandemic” can be declared: In covid, for example, this declaration was only made in March 2020, although the international emergency had already been activated two months earlier.
It also introduces State commitments on solidarity and equity in access to medical products and financing in health emergency situations, and will create authorities in national health systems to coordinate the application of these regulations in each country.
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2572809/oms-adia-tratado-sobre-pandemias-por-falta-de-acordo-entre-paises-membros
