WHO urges countries to reach agreement on disease response

Speaking at a press conference from WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan stressed that the agreement that countries are negotiating is an absolute expression of national sovereignty. According to him, true sovereignty means having the confidence to cooperate with other countries and believing in one's own independence.

Mr Ryan said that although the negotiations were making progress and the determination of all countries was very high, there were some key areas where member states still had major disagreements, such as access to pathogens, benefit sharing, funding, prevention and vaccines.

Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus affirmed that the agreement on disease prevention remains the best solution at present, and is also an opportunity to ensure the world has enough important medical tools to respond quickly, effectively and fairly when the disease breaks out. He expressed confidence that this agreement will help save many lives, and urged leaders of countries to strive to reach consensus.

WHO member states have spent more than two years negotiating a deal to ensure a global health disaster does not happen again in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. But the negotiations have dragged on as countries struggle to reach consensus on key areas, particularly on sharing pathogen data, vaccines and medicines. In recent weeks, concerns have been raised in the UK, the US, Switzerland and elsewhere that the deal could undermine national sovereignty over health.

The negotiating committee is expected to report on progress at the World Health Assembly meeting from May 27 to June 1. Negotiations on the pandemic prevention and response agreement will run until May 24. The Assembly will decide on the next steps, depending on whether negotiators agree on a final document.