Countries at odds over pandemic definition in race to agree treaty
Countries negotiating a crucial treaty on pandemics at the World Health Organization have so far struggled to agree key points including the basic definition of a pandemic, despite targeting a rapid timetable for a deal in 2024.
The annotated “zero”, or early, draft of the intergovernmental group developing the treaty, seen by the Financial Times, shows a complex debate between countries about whether any outbreak deemed a “pandemic” would have to be viral, transmit from human to human, or affect populations with low immunity, among other points.
Nations are also torn on whether the director-general of the WHO would have the power to “trigger” a declaration of a pandemic, the diplomats said.
A proposal by the EU to cap pricing for vaccines, drugs and tests at not-for-profit levels and to tier pricing for poor and middle-income countries respectively has so far received a “lukewarm reception” from the global south, one of the two said.
Thiru Balasubramaniam, Geneva representative of Knowledge Ecology International, a patent advocacy group, said the “clock was ticking”.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Donato Paolo Mancini
