WFPHA Statement during INB Public Hearings

The World Health Assembly Special Session (WHASS) which took place in December 2021 established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

In the decision establishing the INB, the WHA also requested the WHO Director-General to hold public hearings to inform its deliberations.

During the INB Public Hearings, held in June 2022, WFPHA provided the following statement:

As it stands, the current draft annotated outline of the proposed instrument contains a great deal of pretty language centring on themes related to equity, making mention of multilateralism, universal health coverage, technology transfer, and incorporation of One Health approaches — all of which the WFPHA supports and lauds.

However, it still lacks any mechanisms by which to ensure transparency and accountability. Part XI, which concerns Governance and Review, says that the section could clarify the ways by which the WHO could monitor and track member state commitments and establish a member state mechanism to oversee implementation, review, compliance and dispute settlement, with each member state obligated to send in routine reports.

Still, it lays out no specific mechanisms or measures and includes no penalties should a Member State fail to comply. Without the precise means by which to ensure the enactment of the proposed instrument, it remains a purely rhetorical, toothless paper.

The pandemic has proved our need to move beyond hollow words. The value of an international instrument exists solely in the implementation of a viable, legal framework by which we could ensure collaboration and equity of resources. Without concrete consequences, we are bound to repeat the mistakes of the past — something we cannot afford in the face of climate change, antimicrobial resistance, and other emerging diseases.

During the first round of hearings held in April 2022, WFPHA provided a joint statement on substantive elements of a new international instrument on pandemic preparedness and response.