The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Wednesday that member states have reached an agreement on preparing and responding to the future pandemic after more than three years of negotiations.
With negotiations commenced in 2021, member states have compiled a draft agreement for consideration at the World Health Parliament next month.
The proposals include establishing access to pathogens and profit sharing systems, building geographically diverse R&D capabilities, promoting the transfer of technology and related knowledge, and establishing global supply chains and logistics networks.
“When we reached the consensus on the pandemic agreement, they not only introduced generation-by-generation to make the world safer, but also demonstrated that multilateralism is alive and that in our divided world we can work together to find a common response to a common threat.
“Who would like to thank Member States and their negotiation team for their visionary, commitment, and fatigue-free work. We look forward to considering the World Health Parliament’s agreement.
The proposal does not empower WHO to ascertain the individual sovereignty of Member States and to “require WHO to directly order, change or stipulate the laws or policies of the state or to take certain measures.”
If the proposal is finalized, it remains uncertain whether the US exists to benefit from the global agreement. As soon as he began his second term, President Trump ordered the US to withdraw from WHO, trying to do the same during his first term. The United States is currently considered a member state due to its one year waiting period before the withdrawal is complete.
Public health experts have expressed concern that if the US withdraws from WHO completely, the country will lose its ability to track infectious disease emergency and other global health data around the world. The United States has historically been the largest funder of the organization.
