Reports Search

Special index page with links to over 35 editions of GHF, including a series of exclusive stories, guest essays, interviews, podcasts from the second quarter of 2024 between April and June, compiled by Sana Ali.

Group 1 'Treaty talks' comprises posts regarding the WG IHRs and the INB for a pandemic agreement. See in particular the posts regarding the politics of the Africa position and various reports regarding pathogen access and benefit sharing, financing, 'equity', and technology transfer.

Group 2 includes a range of posts, including comments on WHA77 and WHO financing (the 'investment round').

Group 3 includes a number of guest essays, including One Health and PABS in the draft pandemic agreement

1. The Kyoto Biennial Conference of the International Law Association was convened remotely as in December 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic precluded in-person gatherings. The Lisbon Biennial in July 2022 was among the first in-person events attended by many of its participants as the shadow of the pandemic dissipated. As the ILA prepares for its Athens Biennial in June 2024 the international community has largely returned to “normalcy” from a public health standpoint. Yet unfinished business from the COVID-19 pandemic remains as we seek to lay the groundwork for preventing and mitigating future pandemics. In a paradoxical sense, the COVID-19 pandemic opened a window of opportunity for governments and civil society to put in place institutional mechanisms to accomplish these objectives. Yet that window may not remain open for long. Planning and spending time to address low probability, high risk events – paradigmatically pandemics -- does not occupy a high government priority because returns on investment are uncertain, and political leaders are not likely to be credited by their constituencies for spending to address uncertainties.

"MSF welcomes these new amendments to the IHR as an important first step towards addressing inequity in access to medical care and health products during global health emergencies. As a medical humanitarian organisation responding to emergencies globally, we are encouraged to see explicit recognition of the need to ensure access to health products during health emergencies, including in humanitarian settings.

“As the INB negotiation is extended for another year, we urge WHO member states to remember the clear lessons learned from the past health emergencies, from Ebola virus disease to COVID, follow the example of the IHR amendments, and complete the package of measures needed for a just framework for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. 

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Member States of WHO secured a desperate win in reaching consensus on the amendments to the International Health Regulations, following more than two years of systematic and intense negotiations, culminating in an astonishing agreement in the final hours of the 77^th World Health Assembly. The consensus assumes greater significance in an otherwise difficult meeting of WHO member states this year, that was fraught with several political resolutions laced with rounds of voting among 194 countries.

"In this story, we look at how these negotiations unfolded during the last week in the midst of an ongoing Assembly. Negotiators who have been working on these discussions included both Geneva-based diplomats and capital-based experts – they spent days, and long hours into the nights, in drafting group sessions. See our earlier story, when a drafting group was established on May 29th. The following four days was a determined effort by all countries to get this over the finish line by around 4 p.m. on June 1, 2024.

For some delegations, it was a challenging process to finalize and agree on the amendments, while political and highly contentious discussions unfolded in the next room at the premises of the United Nations in Geneva. Some developing country diplomats hopped in to watch the voting on matters related to Palestine, and going back in, into the IHR drafting group sessions negotiating financing mechanisms among others. They not only survived, but also won on both accounts."

[Report covers

Member States of WHO secured a desperate win in reaching consensus on the amendments to the International Health Regulations, following more than two years of systematic and intense negotiations, culminating in an astonishing agreement in the final hours of the 77^th World Health Assembly. The consensus assumes greater significance in an otherwise difficult meeting of WHO member states this year, that was fraught with several political resolutions laced with rounds of voting among 194 countries.

After two years of intensive negotiations – including long nights this week – the World Health Assembly (WHA) finally passed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR)  and committed to completing pandemic agreement talks within a year. 

After failing to agree on the amendments before WHA opened on Monday, member states have been racing to the finish in a drafting committee during this week in meetings that often went into the early hours.

“Tonight we have all won and the world has won. You have made the world safer,” said a hoarse WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who lost his voice during the late-night sessions.

Morehttps://healthpolicy-watch.news/the-world-has-won-new-regulations-to-protect-against-pandemics-finally-passed/

We congratulate the Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) for their efforts to approve the revisions to the International Health Regulations (IHRs) (2005) at the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA), despite the tensions and pressure that characterized the final phase of the negotiations.

[The Statement then goes on to highlight the important changes. See]

After two years of intensive negotiations – including long nights this week – the World Health Assembly (WHA) finally passed amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR)  and committed to completing pandemic agreement talks within a year. 

After failing to agree on the amendments before WHA opened on Monday, member states have been racing to the finish in a drafting committee during this week in meetings that often went into the early hours.

“Tonight we have all won and the world has won. You have made the world safer,” said a hoarse WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who lost his voice during the late-night sessions.

[see full report here]

Note deep disappointment expressed by Nina Schwalbe of Spark Street Advisors that all references to compliance have been dropped in the IHR.

“The amendments do not include any provisions for a compliance mechanism. How can countries be held accountable to their commitments with a compliance mechanism?”

We congratulate the Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) for their efforts to approve the revisions to the International Health Regulations (IHRs) (2005) at the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA), despite the tensions and pressure that characterized the final phase of the negotiations.

The IHRs adopted in 2005 are legally binding on 196 States Parties. They help to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease. The World Health Assembly 2024 has agreed to a set of amendments to the IHRs that will strengthen the international cooperation to support health security and equity, while recognising countries’ sovereignty in handling public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders. The International Health Regulations as amended can be found in document A77/A/CONF./14.