GENEVA (AN) — Despite limited progress at their latest negotiating round, proponents of a global pandemic treaty could wrap up talks this year. That's according to World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus' prognosis on Friday as the 11th round concluded.
Tedros praised the WHO's Intergovernmental Negotiation Body for making headway toward a binding global agreement, though organizers had hoped to make more progress. The INB began holding talks among WHO's 194 member nations after the World Health Assembly set it up in Dec. 2021.
"I think this negotiation can be concluded within this year, " Tedro told INB delegates as they finished two more weeks of talks. "I believe it's possible."
There was also "a lot of good will" and some progress on how to approach research and development, regulatory systems and supply chains, said INB co-chair Precious Matsoso, a former director-general of the South African National Department of Health.
"There's still differences," she told the delegates, "but there are also historic developments that we've seen in this meeting, where we've seen groups of member states come together to produce texts and to help us propel the way forward."
Getting to a December finish line
One of the most contested parts of the draft text has to do with a new system for sharing information on pathogens that might cause new pandemics. The latest plan could put off creation of a proposed "pathogen access and benefit-sharing" system, or PABS, until after a treaty is adopted. African nations particularly want a system that rewards them for sharing information.
In the U.S. Congress, House Republicans this month approved a bill trying to make it harder for U.S. President Joe Biden's administration to approve any pandemic agreement. The bill went to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for consideration.
House Republicans, like other right-wing politicians around the world, say they fear a pandemic treaty will undercut national sovereignty. The draft text is emphatic, however, in "reaffirming the principle of the sovereignty of states in addressing public health matters."
Negotiators at WHO's INB are scheduled to resume treaty discussions at a 12th round in early November. "To make progress, we will need commitment and we will need trust," said INB co-chair Anne-Claire Amprou, the French ambassador for global health.
The WHA initially called for the treaty talks to be concluded in time for its gathering earlier this year, but agreed to extend the talks for another year. If an agreement is reached before the end of the year, the WHA would need to meet in special session to approve it in December.
