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Member states have been given nine days to comment on the ‘Zero draft of the Political Declaration on Pandemic Preparedness and Response, due to be adopted at the United Nations (UN) High-Level Meeting (HLM) on 20 September – with insiders describing the draft as “underwhelming”.

The HLM is essential for boosting waning political commitment to pandemic preparedness and response amid a myriad of urgent post-COVID recovery issues vying for politicians’ attention and financing.

The 14-page “zero-draft”, sent to member states on Monday with a comments deadline of 14 June, is deferential to the two ongoing negotiations on the pandemic accord and International Health Regulations (IHR)  amendments being conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO). These will only conclude in May 2024.

In the aftermath of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 76th World Health Assembly, the pace of WHO negotiations on: 1) a pandemic treaty and 2) amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) will intensify over the coming months. WHO’s informal list of intergovernmental meetings is published here: https://apps.who.int/gb/gov/en/intergovernmental-meeting_en.html.

The Medical Countermeasures Platform that is being discussed by WHO and partners, has emerged clearly in the draft text of the Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, for the United Nations General Assembly High-level Meeting in September 2023.

In the latest version of the text, dated June 20^th, seen by Geneva Health Files, there have been several references to the medical countermeasures platform. Of course, this should not be surprising given that the idea for such a platform has steadily moved this year through WHO, the G7, the G20, the Johannesburg processes and now in New York.

The Member States of the WHO are about to commence the most significant negotiations that could set the paradigm for international legal obligations for preparedness and response to future pandemics. These negotiations focus on amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) as well as the negotiation of a treaty or other legal instrument under the WHO Constitution that will complement the IHR to ensure better preparedness and response to future pandemics, drawing from the experiences of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The most critical consideration for developing countries in these negotiations will be mainstreaming equity concerns, currently missing from the existing rules and mechanisms available globally to enable developing countries to effectively prevent and respond to a pandemic outbreak. In this context, this brief suggests some elements of equity that should be pursued through specific textual proposals by developing countries through amendments to the IHR.

Official page of the Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005)