🚨 The working draft for the pandemic instrument being negotiated at WHO has just been released.
The breadth of issues covered shows cognizance of the scale of the challenge (the "what") but there is little detail on actions (the "how").
Summary in this 🧵
The draft was informed by input from the Member States, invited stakeholders and the public, and will form the basis for negotiations next week.
New terminology includes "WHO CAII".
This is shorthand for “WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response”.
In other words, there is no indication yet on whether the CAII will be legally binding.
The preamble reaffirms the principle of Member State sovereignty and emphasizes equity.
It also mentions the broad effects of pandemics, the importance of cross-sectoral action and the tension in IP rules for promoting access (to medicines, diagnostics and vaccines).
The vision focuses on protection from the effects of pandemics and affirms that this must be done with an equity, human rights and solidarity focus.
It also notes the centrality of universal health coverage to ensure the highest attainable level of health for all.
The draft outlines the general expectations for countries including:
✔️establish national pandemic strategies
✔️engage with communities and non-state actors
✔️cooperate with other member states
✔️mobilize financial resources to WHO for pandemic preparedness and response.
The "specific provisions" outline what the WHO CAII would aim to address.
It is extremely broad.
Issues include achieving equity, local production, One Health, global supply chains, national and global governance, research and development and financing, to name just a few.
Proposed governance rests with WHO.
Oversight mechanisms will only be considered in the future and may include incentives, cooperation procedures and some form of compliance mechanisms.
The draft recognized the breadth of the challenge in line with past reviews.
But the detail is lacking and the legal option for the instrument has not been chosen.
Public hearings (originally scheduled for June) will take place in September instead.
It's a long road ahead.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.