Global pandemic treaty negotiations to conclude by May, WHO says

By Bhanvi Satija and Puyaan Singh

Talks aimed at reaching a global agreement on how to better fight pandemics will continue into next year and are expected to be completed by the next World Health Assembly in May, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

"Member states are working to conclude a global pandemic agreement as soon as possible," said Anne-Claire Amprou, co-chair of the agency's Intergovernmental Negotiating Body that is leading the talks.

The WHO's negotiating body includes 194 member governments and is meeting from Nov. 4 to 15 to continue negotiations over a global pact. These were previously expected to conclude by 2025, or earlier.

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The WHO said that negotiations so far have focused on articles pertaining to disease surveillance and prevention of future pandemics, which is at the core of the treaty.

Steven Solomon, the WHO's official, said that it was not the agency's role to advise on the result of the U.S. presidential elections, when asked about whether Donald Trump's win impacted the negotiations.

"It is decidedly not the Secretary's role to speculate about the intentions of individual member states," Solomon said.

Co-chair Precious Matsoso said the U.S. was continuing to participate in the negotiations as before.

Some states think that the current language of the treaty is "too weak," said Matsoso, adding that they are working on the "most appropriate text" that can be incorporated in the agreement.

Matsoso said that states had agreed on broad principles but some of the finer details required more work.

"The world can be better prepared for the threats today and also in (the) future. I'm confident that we'll reach that goal."

The WHO members have been negotiating for over two years on an agreement that could increase collaboration before and during pandemics after the acknowledged failures during COVID-19.

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