Negotiating body co-chair skeptical about pandemic treaty timeline

Roland Driece, a co-chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body Bureau on the pandemic accord, said that while it would be ideal for countries to meet the deadline, he is concerned the timeline isn’t realistic given the complexities involved in getting the world’s countries to agree on an international treaty. “I'm not pretty confident,” he said. Driece said other efforts to bolster the global health infrastructure that’s consuming the attention of countries — mainly amendments to the International Health Regulations — could also slow down the process. Countries also have different priorities on what they want in the treaty and aren’t in agreement on all the issues — and it will take time to find a consensus. Efforts must be put into ensuring all countries are able to participate in the process of crafting the treaty, which can also be time-consuming. Some groups are also calling for a simulation exercise to test out the agreement before countries sign on, which is another step added to the timeline.