The Council of the European Union is pushing for a global deal aimed at pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
This was the sentiment driving the negotiations on new rules for dealing with future pandemics, which have begun in earnest at the World Health Organization (WHO).
The first meeting of an Inter-governmental Negotiating Body (INB) took place behind closed doors on 24 February 2022 to agree on ways of working and timelines. The UN health agency’s 194 member countries were in theory represented, but with Russia invading Ukraine It is unclear whether Russia was represented at the meeting.
The new pact is among more than 200 recommendations made by various reviewers for shoring up the world’s defences against new pathogens following the Covid-19 pandemic that has killed more than 6.2 million people in two years. It will be backed by a Washington-led effort to build a global pandemic-prevention fund hosted by the World Bank.
