Financing: Don't Let It Be An Afterthought In The Pandemic Agreement [Guest Essay]

Newsletter Edition #108 [Treaty Talks]

Hi,

Signing up to new obligations to prevent, prepare and respond to health emergencies will need resources. But many experts are of the view that the question on financing for PPPR is one, that has not been sufficiently addressed in the ongoing negotiations towards a new Pandemic Agreement.

Ways to find additional funds for health are also shaped by developments outside global health. So while there are structural reasons for inadequate resources for health in general, raising funds for health financing requires collective response across policy silos. This has not happened so far, and is unlikely this will change in the near term.

In today’s edition, we bring you a guest essay from activists at Wemos, who present the gaps in the policy response to health financing in the PPPR context. They argue that the pandemic agreement is “a chance to move towards tackling some of the wrongs in international finance, including tax loopholes and unsustainable debt piles, and to pave the way for fair and sustainable financing for global common goods for health.”

In the Pandemic Agreement, the perception is that developed countries have no appetite to agree to concrete obligations on financing such as a new fund. Already, most of the financing related text is now green. The only way this could be opened up, will be if some developing countries want to trade stronger obligations on prevention, in lieu for more resources, diplomatic sources indicate. The financing discussion is expected to come up in the upcoming meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body in November.

Thank you for reading.

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Best,

Priti

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Illustration Credit: Amy Clarke, Chembe Collaborative

I. GUEST ESSAY

Financing: Don't Let It Be An Afterthought In The Pandemic Agreement

By Mariska Meurs & Koen Scholten

Mariska Meurs, mariska.meurs@wemos.org, team lead and global health advocate Finance for Health, Wemos

Koen Scholten, koen.scholten@wemos, global health advocate Finance for Health, Wemos

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It has been almost three years since the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) started negotiations on the pandemic agreement. Although many essential topics have been, and are still being discussed, one crucial component that has not been discussed enough and has been  under analyzed is  financing. If we truly want the agreement to contribute to a more equitable and safer world, it will require a fair, resilient financial framework that will meaningfully support implementation of new obligations for Pandemic Prevention Preparedness and Response.

In the latest draft version of the agreement, articles 19 and 20 on international cooperation and financing are mostly ‘greened', indicating that consensus has been reached. Yet, this draft does not include clear legally binding obligations on financing pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPR).

The pandemic agreement is a rare opportunity to protect all people by establishing commitments for international finance and governance for pandemic PPR that is fair, sustainable and additional to existing funding for global health. It is a chance to move towards tackling some of the wrongs in international finance, including tax loopholes and unsustainable debt piles, and to pave the way for fair and sustainable financing for global common goods for health.

Neglecting to do so jeopardizes more than only future pandemic PPR financing. Countries will need resources to implement the commitments made in the agreement. Without additional funding, implementation of new obligations will inevitably shift resources away from other parts of already overburdened health systems, including the provision of primary healthcare, care for infectious and non-communicable diseases and sexual and reproductive health services, especially in low- and middle-income countries.

Image Credit: Photo by Phoenix Fire, Pexels