WHO chief welcomes EU proposal for pandemic preparedness treaty
World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed on Wednesday a proposal from the European Council to negotiate a global treaty on pandemic preparedness.
If successful, it would be the second treaty of its kind after a tobacco pact was approved back in 2003.
In an address to the WHO’s Executive Board, Ghebreyesus said: "As you know we have the Tobacco Convention and if we can make this happen, this would be the second Convention or the second treaty and for a very important area, pandemic preparedness and response.
“All of us have seen how unprecedented this pandemic is, and we have to give it our best. And I think a treaty is the best thing that we can do that can that (bring) the political commitment of member states."
The proposal was tabled by European Union Council President Charles Michel in December 2020 after a year during which the coronavirus pandemic had impacted all aspects of people’s lives around the world.