After the devastating effects of the coronavirus, the World Health Organization is pushing for a ‘historic deal’ to deal with future pandemics. “We cannot just carry on as before,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
After the devastating effects of the coronavirus, the World Health Organization (WHO) is pushing for a “historic” deal to deal with future pandemics. “We cannot simply carry on as before,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Sunday at the opening of the UN organization’s annual meeting in Geneva. Until the end of the month, the WHO member states will discuss, among other things, how to deal with global health risks, including possible future pandemics.
Specifically, better prevention of pandemics and a possible better handling of them than with Corona is currently being discussed. Negotiations on a corresponding international agreement are still in the early stages, but should be completed by the next WHO annual meeting in May 2024.
“The pandemic treaty that the member states are currently negotiating must become a historic treaty,” Tedros demanded. There must be a “paradigm shift in global health policy”. It must be recognized “that our destinies are connected”.
During the corona pandemic, there were repeated accusations, especially against rich industrialized countries, that they were only pursuing their own interests and, for example, ignored the needs of poor countries when it came to vaccines. According to the WHO, at least 20 million people died worldwide as a result of the corona pandemic.