World faces last chance to keep pandemic protocols in place

Geneva, Switzerland:

Countries that are reaching a historic deal to deal with future pandemics must use April to heal their differences because failure is out of the question, the co-chairs of the negotiations told AFP.

Over the past two years, countries have drafted an international agreement on pandemic preparedness, preparedness and response, but remain far apart on key issues such as vaccine equity and pathogen surveillance.

As a result, the planned final round of negotiations fell short of the goal of finalizing the deal before Easter, ready for adoption by the World Health Organization’s 194 member states at their annual general meeting starting on May 27.

Countries will return to WHO headquarters in Geneva from April 29 to May 10 for an additional round of life-or-death talks.

Roland Dries, who is co-chairing the negotiations, hopes countries will use the time between now and then to get out of the trenches and find compromises.

“We want them to talk to each other and not attack each other,” the Dutch health diplomat told AFP.

“That’s the biggest challenge we have: People talk a lot – they talk all the time – but sometimes instead of talking to each other, it’s about telling each other things that you think are important.

“You need to bridge your differences.”

Key sticking points include sharing emerging pathogens, better monitoring of disease outbreaks, reliable financing and the transfer of anti-epidemic technology to poorer countries.

Ahead of the April-May talks, some countries have raised concerns about another Covid-19 outbreak that has devastated economies, upended societies, weakened health systems and killed millions.

focus and urgency

“Everyone understands that failure is not really an option,” Dries said.

“There are many things in the world that require political attention: Ukraine, Gaza, climate change. We have a responsibility to maintain focus and a sense of urgency.”

The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body in Driss will prepare a streamlined new draft text by April 18 to reach consensus.

One European ambassador, frustrated with the process, said success hinged on getting a concise, convergence-oriented document.

“It’s about providing the right impetus to better prevent, prepare and respond. It’s not about going into the deepest details of a mechanism,” the diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity.

But some NGOs participating in the talks worry that a simple revised draft will sidestep all thorny topics and leave the world equally vulnerable to epidemics.

Mohega Kamal-Yani of the People’s Vaccine Alliance told AFP that “equity is therefore mentioned, but no measures are taken” to achieve this.

Rich countries have not provided financial support for enhanced pathogen surveillance or made strong commitments to technology transfer, even through intellectual property exemptions for publicly funded products or tools such as vaccines, she said.

“So, for God’s sake, what’s left? Maintaining the unequal status that led to what happened with HIV during COVID and before,” she said.

The United States said on Friday it was committed to an ambitious deal, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Health Secretary Xavier Becerra saying that “unless we prevent, detect and stop the outbreak before it reaches the United States, Americans will Their lives and jobs cannot be protected.” coastal”.

‘We won’t give up’

Together with the African Group, the 31-nation Equitable Group has so far worked resolutely to ensure that developing countries do not find themselves in trouble again.

The organization wants access rights to pathogens with pandemic potential to be granted on a clear and equal basis and for fair, equitable and rapid sharing of benefits, including licenses for pandemic response measures such as vaccines, in developing countries.

“A treaty with only political rhetoric cannot be the outcome of this process,” Indonesia said on behalf of the group. Two weeks of negotiations ended on Thursday without an agreement.

“We must be bold, brave and sincere to achieve an effective and fair treaty.”

Mexico said it was concerned about “limited progress” while the Philippines said talks must acknowledge that they have not been successful.

“We cannot continue to repeat priorities such as the list of demands. Reasonable adjustments must not be seen as surrender,” its representative said.

Colombian negotiators, meanwhile, said any deal “must avoid a total and complete collapse of unity.”

“We will not give up because that would give up on all the people who are suffering.”

KM Gopakumar, senior researcher at the NGO Third World Network, told AFP that the negotiation process starts with a commitment to fairness, which is at the heart of everything.

“When they get to the real issues, politics replaces lofty aspirations. So now it’s more economic strategic interests than public health concerns that are driving the negotiations,” he said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)