World Health Assembly opens today with little agreement on pandemic preparations : Anna Gawel / DEVEX Newswire
"If there’s one thing the COVID-19 pandemic taught us, it’s that we weren’t ready for it. If there’s another hard lesson we learned, it’s that getting everyone to agree on how to respond to a pandemic was seemingly impossible.
The lead-up to the World Health Assembly this week has been a sobering reminder of just how impossible it still is." (Anna Gawel in the DEVEX Newswire, 27 May 2024.)
The 77th World Health Assembly is taking place in Geneva this week, two years after negotiations began on a pandemic treaty in the wake of COVID-19. However, countries failed to reach an agreement on a draft treaty ahead of the assembly. The WHO Director-General urged countries to use the WHA as an opportunity to "re-energize" and continue pushing to get a deal done. It remains unclear what the next steps will be.
The WHA will also cover other important health topics including universal health coverage, influenza preparedness, live animal markets, and climate change impacts on health. The International Health Regulations (IHR), which define countries' obligations during public health emergencies, will also be a focus. As explained in the following article, the Working Group on IHR failed to work out differences between member delegations.
Some felt the 2-year timeline to complete a pandemic treaty was rushed given the complexities involved. There was also a critical deadline of the upcoming U.S. elections in November, as a potential Trump presidency could pull the U.S. out of WHO. The Biden administration needs to weigh political realities while continuing to champion key pandemic preparedness initiatives.
Click here for the DEVEX Newswire of 27 May 2024
The 77th World Health Assembly is taking place in Geneva this week, two years after negotiations began on a pandemic treaty in the wake of COVID-19. However, countries failed to reach an agreement on a draft treaty ahead of the assembly. The WHO Director-General urged countries to use the WHA as an opportunity to "re-energize" and continue pushing to get a deal done. It remains unclear what the next steps will be.
The WHA will also cover other important health topics including universal health coverage, influenza preparedness, live animal markets, and climate change impacts on health. The International Health Regulations (IHR), which define countries' obligations during public health emergencies, will also be a focus. As explained in the following article, the Working Group on IHR failed to work out differences between member delegations.
Some felt the 2-year timeline to complete a pandemic treaty was rushed given the complexities involved. There was also a critical deadline of the upcoming U.S. elections in November, as a potential Trump presidency could pull the U.S. out of WHO. The Biden administration needs to weigh political realities while continuing to champion key pandemic preparedness initiatives.
Click here for the DEVEX Newswire of 27 May 2024
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