WHO Chief Warns Against Missing Deadline For Countries To Sign On To Pandemic Preparedness Treaty

Reuters (1/22, Farge) reports, “Countries risk missing a May deadline for agreeing a legally binding treaty on fighting pandemics, which would be a big blow for future generations, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday.” The new treaty “and a series of updates to existing rules on dealing with pandemics are intended to shore up the world’s defences against new pathogens after the COVID-19 pandemic killed more than 7 million people, according to WHO data.” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “I’m concerned that member states may not meet that commitment and there are several outstanding issues that remain to be resolved.”