By Hassan Zaggi
The Panel for a Global Public Health Convention (GPHC), has advocated the establishment of Pandemic Treaty or Convention in order to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response systems.
The Pandemic Treaty which will be at ‘arms-length’ with the World Health Organisation (WHO), will be accountable international system that enables countries at every income level to detect, alert and respond to health threats.
GPHC is an independent coalition of global leaders.
The Panel proposes the body sit at arm’s length to the WHO and that WHO should be strengthened so that its role at the center of the global health infrastructure is enhanced.
This means it would set international standards in preparedness and response and support countries in achieving targets, but would also be supported by an independent body that has the mandate to call on and call out countries based on performance of pandemic preparedness, detection and response.
As the COVID-19 new waves continue to rip through countries, the Panel warned that alarming deficits and gaps in compliance remain unaddressed along the continuum of what an effective epidemic and pandemic response could look like.
In a statement, Tuesday, made available to this newspaper, the group explained that not only are countries no better prepared today to stop disease X, but the current international system has led to an unequal, two-tier response where one third of the world’s population remain unvaccinated, which could yet undermine all the progress made to date.
The new set of recommendations call for a positively incentivized system where compliance with agreed preparedness standards, alert protocols and response efforts are overseen by an independent monitoring and assessment body, covering both data and action.
The group’s recommendations emphasized that sufficient funds will be needed to support a new international architecture for pandemic preparedness and response, namely, predictable, sustainable and timely funding.
A multilateral facility would enable easy access to funds and ensure low- and middle-income countries are able to meet determined international requirements to detect, report and respond to health threats.
The Panel, however, argued thatall agreements on who is required to take what action and when must be negotiated and determined to ensure actors can mobilize in time to contain outbreaks.
This includes accountability for preparation; transparent and real-time reporting of health threats; implementation of evidence-based public health measures; information sharing, including of genetic sequences, specimens and samples; equitable distribution of pandemic goods; as well as a fully funded financing facility.
Commenting, the Chair of GPHC, Barbara M. Stocking, said: “Countries need to wake up because global health security is only as strong as its weakest link.
“Building a new Pandemic Treaty rooted in solidarity, transparency, accountability and equity is non-negotiable – it is in every
country’s self-interest.”
The Panel recognized that while agreed indicators for pandemic preparedness will vary based on a country’s current capacities and financial outlook, all targets must be ambitious and take a whole-of-government approach.
All countries should be accountable to meet their targets, and an independent body should be responsible for tracking and monitoring progress or regression.
The Panel, however, called on the global health leaders to continue to negotiate a Pandemic Treaty this year, urging them to take bold action and ensure no person will ever have to endure a pandemic that could have been prevented. It, however, noted that for a transformed international system for pandemic preparedness and response to work, it must also be coherently governed, stressing that an overarching governance body overseen at the heads of state level would need to ensure equity and inclusion, coordination, trust between all parties and accountability.
