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After years of discussions, nations have finalized the text of a landmark agreement designed to better manage future pandemics and prevent the errors seen during the Covid-19 outbreak, reports RTE.
Following over three years of negotiations and a final lengthy session, tired representatives at the World Health Organization’s headquarters reached an agreement around midnight.
“Tonight marks a significant milestone in our shared journey towards a safer world,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, reports RTE.
“The nations of the world made history in Geneva today,” he said.
Five years after Covid-19 caused widespread fatalities and economic destruction, urgency surrounded the talks amid emerging health risks like H5N1 bird flu, measles, mpox, and Ebola, reports RTE.
The final phase of discussions happened amid cuts to U.S. foreign aid and looming threats of pharmaceutical tariffs, which cast uncertainty over the process.
Key points of contention remained unresolved until the very end.
Delegates found it difficult to agree on Article 11, which concerns sharing pandemic-related technology with developing countries, reports RTE.
During the Covid crisis, wealthier nations were accused of stockpiling vaccines and diagnostics, leaving poorer nations behind.
Countries with major pharmaceutical sectors resisted compulsory technology sharing, arguing it should remain optional, reports RTE.
Ultimately, a compromise seemed to be reached by stating that transfers must be “mutually agreed”.
At the heart of the deal lies the proposed Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System, designed to facilitate rapid data sharing with pharmaceutical firms to enable swift development of pandemic solutions, reports RTE.
In the end, the entire 32-page document was marked green, signifying full endorsement by WHO member countries.
“It’s adopted,” negotiations co-chair Anne-Claire Amprou announced, to applause, reports RTE.
“In drafting this historic agreement, the countries of the world have demonstrated their shared commitment to preventing and protecting everyone, everywhere, from future pandemic threats,” she said, reports RTE.
The finalized document will now be presented for formal approval at next month’s annual WHO gathering.
As behind-the-scenes discussions wound down, Mr Tedros joined the talks and told the press he felt the latest draft was “balanced”, saying a deal would promote “more equity”.
While implementing pandemic preparedness and prevention strategies might be expensive, “the cost of inaction is much bigger”, he stated, reports RTE.
“Virus is the worst enemy. (It) could be worse than a war,” he added.
The United States, which shook the global health community by slashing foreign aid, was notably absent.
President Donald Trump had previously pulled the U.S. out of the WHO and halted participation in the pandemic agreement discussions after taking office in January, reports RTE.
Still, despite the U.S. absence and Trump’s proposed high tariffs on pharmaceutical products, which created unease among industry and governments, an agreement was ultimately reached.
The conclusion of the talks was widely seen as a triumph of international unity, reports RTE.
“At a time when multilateralism is under threat, WHO member states have joined together to say that we will defeat the next pandemic threat in the only way possible: by working together,” said former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark, co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, reports RTE.
As speeches of praise continued into the early morning, a representative from Eswatini offered a note of caution: “whilst we celebrate this moment, we need not rest on our laurels”.
“The real work begins now,” reports RTE.
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