Approval for draft agreement on joint fight against epidemics

World Health Organization member countries have approved the preparation of a draft international plan to jointly combat outbreaks that may emerge in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) have approved the preparation of a draft for the first international agreement planned to better protect the world and jointly combat possible global outbreaks that may emerge in the wake of COVID-19. On the last day of the 3rd meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Unit (INB) held in the organization’s Geneva headquarters, the issue of a draft international pandemic agreement that is legally binding on WHO member countries was discussed. In a statement made by the WHO after the meeting, it was announced that the majority of member countries agreed to begin the preparation process of the agreement. INB Co-Chair Roland Driece stated that with this alliance, member countries sent a determined message to act better prepared for future outbreaks, more collaboratively, and with more lessons learned from the mistakes of COVID-19. The draft text will be negotiated in February 2023. Noting that the INB will move on to the drafting process with the decision, Driece announced that they will begin negotiating the articles in the draft agreement at the 4th meeting to be held on February 27, 2023. At the WHO General Assembly meeting in December 2021, a decision was made to prepare an international agreement that would legally bind all member countries in order to better protect the world against future global pandemics after Covid-19. While most member countries viewed this idea positively, some countries, especially the USA, rejected the idea of an "international agreement" because they thought it would undermine national sovereignty.