Message from New York to Geneva: Equity Front and Centre in PPR Negotiations
Message from New York to Geneva: Equity Front and Centre in PPR Negotiations
Newsletter Edition #44 [Treaty Talks]
Hi,
With New York out of the way, the glare is back on Geneva.
As we remotely tracked some of the proceedings unfolding in New York this week, around the adoption of the Political Declaration on Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response, it was obvious that equity related considerations continue to be at the top of the agenda for many countries.
Thanks to my team Tessa Jager in Geneva and Nishant Sirohi in Goa who held fort this week, while I have been immersed in the operational and financial aspects of this initiative. We bring you a brief update on the UN High Level Meetings on PPR.
Thank you for reading.
Like our work? Consider supporting our journalism that ensures nuance, detail, and accuracy. Readers paying for our work helps us meet our costs. Thank you for reading.
We will be back with our usual “policy intelligence” fare next week.
Until later!
Best,
Priti
Feel free to write to us: patnaik.reporting@gmail.com or genevahealthfiles@protonmail.com; Follow us on Twitter: @filesgeneva
I. STORY OF THE WEEK
Message from New York to Geneva: Equity Front and Centre in PPR Negotiations
By Nishant Sirohi & Tessa Jager
Though fast disappearing from public and political consciousness, COVID-19 continued to cast a long shadow in the discussions on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response at the UN High Level Meetings in New York this week where a declaration was accepted.
This clears the way, and sets the stage for deep negotiations in Geneva to take these discussions to a logical conclusion in the form of a new instrument to address pandemics and to amend the IHR.
In Geneva, diplomats met today for a resumed session of the intergovernmental negotiating body for a stocktaking session at the conclusion of informal consultations on certain provisions. A negotiating text for a pandemic accord is expected to be ready by mid-October as we reported previously.
In this story we bring you a quick wrap of key statements from countries and other actors.
WHO AT THE CENTER, BUT WILL IT DELIVER?
In the contested turf war between having an approach that would involve Heads of State with greater authority, as opposed to WHO, in the event of a health emergency, this round has been won by WHO. But it will remain to be seen whether WHO will continue to deliver and more, in the midst of the many political and financial challenges it already faces.
Despite opposition from some countries, the declaration was accepted this week. Sources say that the formal adoption based on consensus will happen at the UNGA meeting in October.
Here are statements from top WHO officials this week on PPR:
“The first-ever head of state summit on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response is a historic milestone in the urgent drive to make all people of the world safer, and better protected from the devastating impacts of pandemics,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “I welcome this commitment by world leaders to provide the political support and direction needed so that WHO, governments and all involved can protect people’s health and take concrete steps towards investing in local capacities, ensuring equity and supporting the global emergency health architecture that the world needs.”
The political declaration, approved by Mr Dennis Francis, President of the 78th United Nations General Assembly, and the result of negotiations under the able leadership of Ambassadors Gilad Erdan of Israel and Omar Hilale of Morocco, underscored the pivotal role played by WHO as the “directing and coordinating authority on international health,” and the need to “commit further to sustainable financing that provides adequate and predictable funding to the World Health Organization, which enables it to have the resources needed to fulfil its core functions.”
In a briefing with reporters this week, WHO DG Tedros said:
“The declaration is a strong signal from countries that they are committed to learning the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to strengthening the world’s defences against pandemics. For too long, the world has operated on a cycle of panic and neglect. When an epidemic or pandemic strikes, countries have responded in crisis mode, and when it passes, they move on to the next crisis, and fail to learn the lessons that could prevent or mitigate the next epidemic or pandemic.
We owe it to those we have lost to learn the painful lessons COVID-19 has taught us, and to make the changes that will keep our children and grandchildren safer from the pandemics of the future.
Because we know that the next pandemic is a question of when, not if.
In the declaration approved today, Member States have demonstrated that even at this time of division and polarisation, it’s still possible for countries to come together to agree on a shared response to shared threats.
It is that same spirit of collaboration that we urge countries to demonstrate as they continue their negotiations on the Pandemic Accord and the amendments to the International Health Regulations.”
Explaining the timeline of the on-going negotiations, top WHO official Jaouad Mahjour, said during the briefing:
“In terms of the next steps, the INB will meet first week of November to start the negotiation. Another meeting the first week of December, two meetings next year, two weeks meeting in February and two weeks meeting in March to finalise the negotiation hoping that we can have a text that we approved by May 24. And this was requested by the Political Declaration and other Heads of State leader statements.”
ON TIMELINE
The endorsement from New York, also gives DG Tedros in Geneva, to push for timely completion of the negotiations, although some countries believe that additional time may be necessary to come up with meaningful reforms to govern health emergency.
This week Tedros said at a media briefing:
“…Now what we expect is to have the Pandemic Accord by May 2024. That's what the Member States actually set as a deadline. Of course. You have said the process is a bit slow and there are issues contentious issues that has to be addressed. But the good thing is these areas are now identified and Member States are going to get into real negotiation, four or five issues that are dividing them. But I hope that they will have a way to address the differences and have a common ground.”
Majhour added that, “In the UN system, Political Declarations are not binding, but they give political commitment and political guidance to different processes and this is why this particular integration as Dr Tedros said is historic and very important for the ongoing negotiation in Geneva, who will be binding to Member States when they agree on the final text by May 2024.”
Mike Ryan, WHO’s chief emergencies chief said:
“We change the world one step at a time, one commitment at a time, one act at a time. So, I would really like not to underestimate the importance of this political declaration today, because this is where leaders coming together and saying this is important.
We are in danger of forgetting how important this is and we need to recommit to pandemic preparedness. Because we will not forget, we will learn the lessons, and we will move forward with an Accord we will move forward with pandemic preparedness, we will improve surveillance systems, we will take a One Health approach and manage the ecosystem we inhabit this planet we inhabit this planet, with the animals with the plants and we're putting this planet under pressure, both in terms of climate and in terms of the ecosystem. And we are it needs that leadership to set that tone. And then it is for the rest of us working in it to build the governance to build a system to build the financing needed. We had for one year anniversary yesterday of the Pandemic Fund, we are making progress. But this Political Declaration today is important, it resonates, and it must resonate for the communities that we serve and the people on the frontline, and that's our job to translate this declaration into meaningful action at country level at something that makes a real life a real difference in the lives of ordinary people.”
MESSAGE FROM COUNTRIES IN NEW YORK
In their statements during the New York discussions on PPR, a number of developing countries emphasized the need for addressing equity considerations in on-going negotiations in Geneva.
Guyana on behalf of CARICOM countries said, “This meeting serves as a catalyst for the INB, that has equity at its core. Equity was identified as the biggest obstacle in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. We must ensure that people all over the world have equitable access to pandemic PPR.’’
Developed countries, including the EU emphasized their support to the Pandemic Fund and to the ACT Accelerator. Norway in its statement pushed for an interim countermeasures platform.
In its statement, South Africa said, “… We must ensure mutual accountability, responsibility and equity… and it is also high time for institutional mechanisms to be put in place… . It is crucial to accelerate local production of medicine and healthcare facilities for the pandemic management of viruses. This is especially so…[because of].. growing antimicrobial resistance, especially in states that are vulnerable for instability…’’
Bangladesh called for pandemic vaccines to be considered as global public goods and emphasized the need for financing for health care systems in developing countries, the need for equity and for sharing know-how.
China called for investing in universal health coverage and to intensify development cooperation for PPR.
Ethiopia on behalf of Africa Group highlighted six critical areas for cooperation including access to medical countermeasures, the need for local production of vaccines, pharmaceuticals, creation of a technology access pool, addressing shortage of health workers, among others.
Pakistan called for addressing IP barriers to save lives. It also said commercial actors and private donors should not be in charge of vaccine distribution. This should be in the hands of governments.
Argentina pointed out that a region that has the capacity to product products did produce only 4% of supplies. It called for tech transfer and data exchange must be accompanied by the benefits.
II. THE WRAP FROM UNHLM WEEK
MSF reaction statement to UNHLM PPPR declaration
Financing Pandemic Preparedness: The Urgency for Collective Action: World Bank
Global health is everybody’s business. Help us probe the dynamics where science and politics interface with interests. Support investigative global health journalism.