Member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) are reportedly close to reaching an agreement on a landmark treaty aimed at preparing for future pandemics, following three years of intense negotiations. The treaty, which would be legally binding, is designed to strengthen global preparedness against new infectious disease threats following the COVID-19 pandemic that claimed millions of lives between 2020 and 2022.
Sources involved in the discussions told news agency Reuters on Saturday that talks, which continued overnight until 9 a.m., had been paused until Tuesday to resolve a few remaining but crucial issues.
“They (the talks) went overnight until 9 a.m. (Saturday) but didn’t manage to resolve the final issues,” one source familiar with the discussions in Geneva told Reuters as per a report.
The report cited a diplomatic source in Geneva as adding, “Big advancement was made … almost all the treaty was agreed upon with few outstanding yet crucial issues.”
Despite several rounds of late-night meetings, negotiators had missed a key deadline last year. However, the co-chair of the WHO negotiating body had earlier told AFP that an agreement had been reached “in principle”.
US Withdrawal Negotiations And The Main Sticking Point
The United States, which was initially slow to engage in the discussions, withdrew from the talks earlier this year. This came after US President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February pulling the US out of the WHO and prohibiting further participation in the treaty process.
The remaining 192 WHO member states are expected to decide individually whether or not to ratify the agreement after its formal adoption, as per the report.
One of the main sticking points during the negotiations has been the equitable sharing of vaccines and medicines—an issue that has caused friction between wealthier nations and developing countries, seeking to prevent a repeat of the disparities seen during the COVID-19 response.
The talks have also been marred by criticism from right-wing commentators, particularly in the US, UK, and Australia, who claim the treaty could threaten national sovereignty by granting excessive authority to a United Nations agency, the report stated.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has rejected these claims, maintaining that the proposed agreement would enhance global defences against pandemics and bolster national response mechanisms.
Meanwhile, outside the Geneva venue, a small group of protesters demonstrated against the treaty negotiations. One protester displayed a sign featuring a fanged snake coiled around the WHO symbol, accompanied by the slogan: “WHO ARE YOU TO TAKE AWAY MY FREEDOMS?!”
If finalised, the accord would mark only the second treaty ever adopted by WHO members in the agency’s 75-year history, the first being a tobacco control convention in 2003.
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