The World Health Organisation (WHO) warned on Monday that countries risk missing a May deadline for agreeing to a legally binding treaty on fighting pandemics and this would be a big blow for future generations.
The new pact and a series of updates to existing rules on dealing with pandemics are intended to shore up the world’s defences against new pathogens after the Covid-19 pandemic killed more than 7 million people, according to WHO data.
“2024 will be a defining year for global health, and for our WHO.It is a year of opportunity.
This year, you have the opportunity to shape the world’s global health strategy for the next four years, in the GPW14.
This year, you have the opportunity to shape the future of…
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 22, 2024
“I must say I’m concerned that member states may not meet that commitment and there are several outstanding issues that remain to be resolved,” said Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in an address to the global health agency’s Executive Board meeting in Geneva this week.
“In my view, a failure to deliver the pandemic agreement and the IHR (International Health Regulations) amendments will be a missed opportunity for which future generations may not forgive us,” he said, urging countries to seize the opportunity to shape the future of the WHO and global health.
LIVE: Opening of the 154th WHO Executive Board meeting with @DrTedros. #EB154 https://t.co/odfbLZ22lP— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 22, 2024
Only once before in the organisation’s 75-year history has the WHO managed to agree such an accord, and that was a Tobacco Control treaty in 2003. In the same address, Tedros was upbeat about prospects for battling AIDS, which is one in a series of so-called Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) fixed by the global body to fight some of the world’s most pressing problems by 2030. “We are now beginning to see a pathway for the SDG target of ending the HIV pandemic,” Tedros said.
(With agency inputs)
Comments
0 comment