If the WGPR meeting was any indication, the coming year will witness a decisive fight between competing interests on safeguarding equity in global health. This week countries tried to agree on a work plan for the next few months that will see the building blocks for new rules on governing health emergencies put into place. Therefore much is at stake on how to design this process and the resulting negotiations across different forums on a range of issues including incorporating meaningful equity considerations, the strengthening of the International Health Regulations, among others. This in essence is what was discussed at … Continue reading Divergences Continue on the Approaches to Reform the Governance of Health Emergencies 

WHO member states have agreed to explore further the need for new rules, even as they would consider strengthening existing rules. The Working Group on strengthening WHO preparedness and response to health emergencies met this week to agree on a draft report that will be submitted to the Special Session of the World Health Assembly later this month. These discussions are one of the most contentious policy choices for countries battling the pandemic, and under pressure to be seen as responding to a political process. After four days of intense discussions where countries negotiated to draft text for this report, it appears … Continue reading Round One to the EU & Friends: “Treaty” Option Gains Support

By Divya Venkatesh In a pandemic, the sharing of pathogen samples – and associated data such as genetic sequences and epidemiological information are critical for effective public health response – both globally and locally. This is particularly important for the development of medical countermeasures, such as vaccines and diagnostics. And as this pandemic has shown, the sharing of these medical countermeasures across the world is as important to fight the spread of disease. Nominally, the sharing of pathogen samples is governed by the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992), specifically through its supplementary agreement – the Nagoya Protocol which came into effect in … Continue reading Pathogen-Sharing and the Access to Benefits: Theory And Practice

WHO member states continue to engage and wrestle with the question on whether the world needs a new legal instrument to address future emergencies. Considerations on equity are fast-assuming center-space in these discussions. However, it is too early to say whether and to what extent will equity be addressed meaningfully in future governance of health emergencies. Under the Working group on strengthening WHO preparedness and response to health emergencies (WGPR), member states had several consultations this week. In two inter-sessional meetings this week, the working group had discussions in a “deep dive” format on “equity and medical countermeasures and sample sharing … Continue reading “Equity” Expands in Pandemic Treaty Discussions at WHO