The arrival of the Omicron variant is a stark reminder that COVID-19 remains a global problem requiring coordinated, fair and just responses. Members of the World Health Organization (WHO) having officially agreed, on 1er December 2021, to move forward with a treaty on prevention, preparedness and response to pandemics, we believe that Canada and Quebec must show the way.
The arguments for a treaty can be summed up in one proposition: there is currently no international framework for pandemic preparedness and response. The WHO International Health Regulations do not contain specific rules regarding pandemics and do not oblige countries to take specific measures. A treaty offers the possibility of a harmonized international response. Being committed to multilateralism and in favor of a rules-based international order, Canada and the provinces, and in particular Quebec, can bring bold ideas to the negotiation and drafting of the treaty which should be built around the six pillars. following:
1. Harmonized priority of resources – The availability of personal protective equipment, therapeutic products and vaccines illustrates development disparities between countries. Global immunization efforts have proven to be grossly inadequate, and the adoption of a framework for the harmonization of certain aspects of physical arrangements is needed. At a minimum, healthcare workers and those particularly vulnerable to a given disease should be a priority for future parties.
2. “One health” approach – Canada and Quebec can advocate for a “one health” approach aimed at bringing together data on humans and non-human animals, including pathogen sequences, relevant clinical and genomic data, as well as data relating to socio-demographic and geographic origin and animal origin. The fact that COVID-19 most likely appeared through inter-species transmission only underscores the importance of this approach for the health of all species.
3. Open Science – Canada and Quebec should push for the widest possible sharing of scientific data and research results. Open science is rapidly gaining ground on the international scene and promises to challenge established hierarchies in science. More flexible approaches to intellectual property related to COVID-19 vaccines and therapies should also be favored.
4. Data governance – Canada and Quebec must learn from their own experience in data governance. Data should be seen as a public good. The treaty should aim to create channels through which clinical and public health data could be used securely for research, in a way that respects the expectations and needs of the public.
5.Capacity Building – Canada and Quebec can build on their experience in capacity building and advocate for enabling factors so that all countries can meet their treaty obligations. Human and material resources as well as knowledge must be shared in order to guarantee optimal biofabrication capacities distributed among countries. Minimum financial contributions from the countries of the North would also help, as would allowing the compensation of existing debt through investments in training and IT infrastructure.
6. Institutional framework – Within the institutional framework which will be chosen, the creation of groups of experts responsible for updating, every five years, the rules contained in the treaty and adopted by virtue of it. Expert groups could be set up to address public health surveillance, data confidentiality and security, fundamental rights, and public health and research ethics. The creation of such groups would promote an interdisciplinary approach to preparedness and response to the pandemic combining current knowledge and expertise.
The COVID-19 pandemic is unfortunately a repeatable event. While it is impossible to know when, where and how the next pandemic will occur, we can nonetheless define how the international community will prepare for it and respond to future threats. Adopting a treaty therefore constitutes an ambitious path. But is it not time, for the benefit of all humanity, to have ambitious ideas?