The head of the World Health Organization was quite pessimistic on Monday about the ability of member countries to find an agreement to better combat future pandemics by May, while the emergency created by the COVID-19 slaughter fades.
“Future generations may not forgive us” for failing to keep commitments made at the height of the pandemic which brought the global economy to its knees and cost millions of lives, warned Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, at the start of this week’s meeting in Geneva of the WHO Executive Committee.
The WHO’s 194 member states have agreed to negotiate an international agreement aimed at ensuring that countries are better equipped to cope with, or even prevent, the next health disaster. The aim was to seal the deal at the 2024 annual meeting of the World Health Assembly, WHO’s decision-making body, which meets on May 27.
Time is running out and if no one is ready to move, the whole project risks collapsing, warned Dr Tedros.
World leaders pledged to complete negotiations on the pandemic deal and finalize amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) by May.
These two initiatives should make it possible to avoid the mix-ups and dysfunctions which have slowed down the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Everyone will have to give something”
“I must say that I fear that Member States will not respect this commitment. Hurry up. And there are still outstanding questions that need to be resolved,” said Dr. Tedros.
“In my opinion, the failure of the pandemic agreement and the amendments to the IHR would constitute a missed opportunity for which future generations may not forgive us,” he said, asking countries to demonstrate of courage and compromise.
“You will not reach a consensus if everyone remains stuck to their positions. Everyone will have to give something, otherwise no one will get anything.”
“I urge all member states to work urgently and decisively to reach consensus on a strong agreement that will help protect our children and grandchildren from future pandemics. »
The agreement currently being negotiated would aim to guarantee better global preparation and a more equitable response to future pandemics, that of COVID-19 having quickly shown the limits of global solidarity with the appearance of the first vaccines, in insufficient quantities.
In May 2023, WHO declared the end of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern, its highest alert level.
But at the same time, the organization continues to warn against excessive laxity towards a disease which continues to claim thousands of lives around the world.