GENEVA (AN) — The U.N. health agency wants to put itself in charge of handing out a fifth of all the vaccines and other products the world needs in a pandemic.
The rationale behind the World Health Organization's "zero draft proposal" for an international pandemic treaty is to erase what it calls the "gross inequities" between rich and poor that's been a scourge of the COVID-19 pandemic.
WHO's proposal on Wednesday would grant to itself "real-time access" to 20% of the world's production of all safe and effective pandemic-related products. Those include vaccines, oxygen, personal protective gear, diagnostics and therapeutics.
The Geneva-based organization says nations that host drug makers' facilities should provide 10% of those products for free and offer the other 10% at "affordable prices." WHO and the drug makers would agree to a delivery schedule.
The purpose is "to enable equitable distribution, in particular to developing countries, according to public health risk and need and national plans that identify priority populations," says the initial proposal sent to WHO's 194 member nations.
But by forcing drug makers to hand over a portion of their products, WHO proposes the treaty strike a balance that upholds some intellectual property rights – a hot topic that is expected to be major sticking point in negotiations.
The WHO zero draft of the pandemic treaty is out, it is surprisingly strong on several topics. This is one section on intellectual property rights. pic.twitter.com/Bg8P0SPU5P
— James Love (@jamie_love) February 1, 2023
'Much to like in this draft'
The initial response to the draft among some health policy advocates appeared to be positive.
"There is much to like in this draft on topics such as intellectual property rights, transparency, benefit sharing and equity," said James Love, director of Knowledge Ecology International.
"Easy to see why big drug companies have been alarmed at the direction of the WHO work on this," he said. "This is a very good start for the text-based negotiations."
In a nod to managing profit-driven companies, the draft calls for "recognizing that protection of intellectual property rights is important for the development of new medical products, but also recognizing concerns about its effects on prices."
Almost two years ago, 25 nations joined with the European Council and WHO in calling for a treaty to spell out how the world should handle future pandemics.
The draft, which is meant to kick off negotiations, is rooted in WHO's constitution and draws on the International Health Regulations that took effect in 2007 and are legally binding on 196 nations.
"After the collective trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have a glimmer of hope," said Dr. Mohga Kamal-Yanni, a policy adviser to the People’s Vaccine Alliance.
"This text contains measures to provide everyone, everywhere with access to the tools needed to prevent and combat pandemics," she said. "However, this is a draft, not a final text. Governments need to demonstrate their commitment to a treaty based on equity and human rights."
