A New Pandemic Treaty, Revised International Health Regulations, or Both? What is the Actual Roadmap?

WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

Link to the source article >> https://healthpolicy-watch.org/a-new-pandemic-treaty-revised-international-health-regulations-or-both-what-is-the-actual-roadmap/

The World Health Assembly is set to make a fateful decision in November over whether to negotiate a new international ‘Pandemic Treaty’ to improve future pandemic preparedness and response. However, major players like the United States, backed by some civil society groups, have suggested that revisions of the existing International Health Regulations (IHR) would be a better path. Amidst the hyperbole of oft-heated debate over which route might be easier, quicker or more effective, it’s important to understand that either option will require careful, systematic planning and execution of a process that is oft-misunderstood.

At the same time, there are some important technical points that must be kept in mind. WHA agreement to adopt a Pandemic Treaty may have a much more sweeping historical sense, than mere revisions of the existing IHR. But a new treaty will only be enforceable among those member states that have ratified it in what is typically a prolonged process – while any IHR revisions that are agreed to would be applicable to all 196 WHO member states immediately.

Ultimately, it is reaching political consensus on the often-charged content of proposed treaty/IHR reforms that matters the most. But to do that, the process also needs careful consideration – and demystification. WHO former legal counsel Gian Luca Burci, Adjunct Professor of international law at the Geneva Graduate Institute, takes apart the procedural issues, and what they mean, ahead of the third working group meeting of member states on the issue, next week.

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