How close is the World Health Organization to agreeing on pandemic response rules?

How close is the World Health Organization to agreeing on pandemic response rules?

Sub: IR

Sec: Int org

WHO Health Assembly Negotiations

• Health officials from the 194 member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) will meet in Geneva from May 27-June 1.
• Purpose: To finalize negotiations on new rules for responding to pandemics after more than two years of discussions.

Key Objectives:

• Revising the International Health Regulations (IHR) to improve responses to outbreaks.
• Creating a legally-binding Pandemic treaty to enhance global defences against future pandemics.

Significance:

• Seen as the most important meeting since the WHO’s creation in 1948, pivotal for Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s legacy.
• Challenges: While some reforms may be agreed upon, other elements might face delays.

Current International Health Regulations (IHR):

• Came into existence in 2005
• Adopted after the 2002/3 SARS outbreak
• Obligates countries to report public health events with potential cross-border impact and includes measures on trade and travel.
• Inadequacies: Effective for regional epidemics (such as Ebola) but insufficient for global pandemics (Eg.- Covid-19).

Changes to Global Health Rules:

• Update in the IHR (2005):
  • New Alerts System: Introduces different risk levels for outbreaks, including an “early action alert” and a “pandemic emergency” for severe threats.
    • Currently, the WHO has only one level of emergency – a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). The new system envisages an intermediary stage called an “early action alert”.
  • Strengthening Obligations: Enhances state obligations to report public health events from “may” to “should”.

WHO Pandemic Treaty:

• Aim: Address COVID-19 shortcomings, particularly vaccine distribution inequities (avoiding a repeat of the “vaccine apartheid”) and improve transparency and cooperation.

Key Provisions:

• Establishment of the COP: 
  • The current negotiating texts have also proposed an establishment of the Conference of Parties (COP) to oversee the implementation of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
• International Treaty: 
  • The proposed establishment of a COP suggests that an agreement could be a classic international treaty adopted under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution as opposed to the alternative Article 21 opt-out regulations.
• Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS): 
  • To address this issue, the current draft of the Agreement proposes a quid pro quo mechanism, formally titled the WHO PABS System.
    • It compels countries to share genome sequence information and samples with WHO-coordinated networks and databases.
    • In return for access to this data, manufacturers will be required to provide 10% of their products free of charge and 10% at not-for-profit prices.
• Legal Obligations on Benefits-Sharing: 
  • The current text of the provision aims to establish legal obligations on benefits-sharing for all users of biological materials and genetic sequence data under PABS.
  • A robust PABS system, particularly for low- and middle-income countries, including some African nations, seems non-negotiable for promoting equity in access to medical countermeasures.
• Article 12: Proposes reserving 20% of tests, treatments, and vaccines for WHO distribution to poorer countries during emergencies (the exact portion still debated).
• Comparison: Would be the second major health treaty after the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (a treaty which aims to reduce smoking via taxation and rules on labelling and advertising).

Negotiation Dynamics

• Country Positions:
  • Wealthy vs. Poorer Countries: Major rifts and technicalities have complicated negotiations.
  • Missed Deadlines: The May 10 deadline was missed, and emergency meetings have been held to boost morale.
• Contentious Issues:
  • Drug and Vaccine Sharing: A major point of contention.
  • Financing: Debate over creating a dedicated fund or using existing resources like the World Bank’s $1 billion pandemic fund.
  • Political Pressure: Right-wing groups and politicians argue the treaty threatens national sovereignty, which the WHO denies.

Future Actions:

• IHR Rules: More advanced in negotiations, likely to pass, and take effect automatically after 12 months unless opted out.
• Pandemic Treaty: This will require ratification and is unlikely to be finalized by the WHA meeting. Planning for further negotiations will continue.

Source: IE