Next week, the World Health Assembly, the World Health Organization’s decision-making body, will discuss a potential international pandemic treaty. Pandemic preparedness is critical, but governments must also ensure that this agreement addresses prevention at source. Actions must be agreed to significantly reduce the risk of pathogen spillover from animals to humans well before they become local outbreaks, epidemics, or global pandemics.
On March 30, 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, 26 Heads of State; the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; and President of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for the development of an international treaty on pandemic prevention and preparedness. They recognized that the devastating ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic clearly demand immediate re-examination of our damaged and destructive relationship with nature.
A New International Pandemic Treaty Must Include Prevention at Source
On March 30, 2021, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, 26 Heads of State; the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus; and President of the European Council, Charles Michel, called for the development of an international treaty on pandemic prevention and preparedness. They recognized that the devastating ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic clearly demand immediate re-examination of our damaged and destructive relationship with nature.
A New International Pandemic Treaty Must Include Prevention at Source