The proposed WHO Pandemic Agreement: Ambitious progress or business as usual?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/jcph.v1i2.80000Keywords:
pandemic agreement, Covid-19, inequalities, governance, critical global healthAbstract
The World Health Organization (WHO)’s proposal for a Pandemic Agreement, released in April 2024, at first blush, seems laudable (WHO 2024a). The failure of governments to coordinate a response to COVID-19, as implored by the WHO and the United Nations (UN) at the beginning of the pandemic, underlines the urgent need for reform in the global governance of pandemics. This editorial considers: how has the Agreement progressed to date? And will it adequately prepare societies to tackle future pandemics?
References
Atuk, T., & Cannon, F. (2024) ‘Monkeypox, Where Is Your Rage?’: The racialization, sexualization, and securitization of global health. Journal of Critical Public Health, 1(2), 43-50. https://doi.org/10.55016/ojs/jcph.v1i2.79353
Baker, M. G., Durrheim, D., Hsu, L-Y., & Wilson, N. (2023) COVID-19 and other pandemics require a coherent response strategy. The Lancet, 401, 10373: P265-266. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02489-8/fulltext
Fassin, D., & Fourcade, M. (Eds) (2021) Pandemic Exposures: Economy and Society in the Time of Corovirus. Hau Books.
GT Staff Reporters (2022) GT investigates: rich countries hoarding vaccines in disregard of poorer regions breathes life into new variants, worsens economic disparity. Global Times, January 17, https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202201/1246196.shtml (Accessed: 12 September 2022)
Petersen, A. (2024) Pandemic Societies: A Critical Public Health Perspective. Bristol University Press.
Reuters (2024) Global pandemic treaty to be concluded by 2025, WHO says. June 2. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/global-pandemic-treaty-be-concluded-by-2025-who-says-2024-06-01/ (Accessed: 5 July 2024)
Shaw, B. (2024) Global pandemic agreement undermined by corporate interests. World Socialist Web Site, April 14, https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2024/04/18/uumo-a18.html (Accessed 11 July 2024)
Sirleaf, E.J., & Clark, H. (2021) Losing Time: End this Pandemic and Secure the Future. https://theindependentpanel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/COVID-19-Losing-Time_Final.pdf (Accessed 15 Sept 2024)
The Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (2021) COVID- 19: Make it the Last Pandemic. https://theindependentpanel.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/COVID-19-Make-it-the-Last-Pandemic_final.pdf (Accessed 8 July 2024)
United Nations (UN) (2020) COVID-19 and Human Rights: We Are All in This Together. April 2020. https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/COVID-19-and-Human-Rights.pdf (Accessed 12 July 2024)
World Health Organization (WHO) (2011) Implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005): Report of the Review Committee on the Functioning of the International Health Regulations (2005) in Relation to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009. Report by the Director-General. May 5, https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA64/A64_10-en.pdf (Accessed 30 August 2024)
World Health Organization (WHO) (2024a) Proposal for the WHO Pandemic Agreement. https://apps.who.int/gb/inb/pdf_files/inb9/A_inb9_3Rev1-en.pdf (Accessed 5 July 2024)
World Health Organization (WHO) (2024b) World Health Assembly agreement reached on wide-ranging, decisive package of amendments to improve the International Health Regulations. https://www.who.int/news/item/01-06-2024-world-health-assembly-agreement-reached-on-wide-ranging--decisive-package-of-amendments-to-improve-the-international-health-regulations--and-sets-date-for-finalizing-negotiations-on-a-proposed-pandemic-agreement#:~:text=WHO's%20Member%20States%20decided%20to,the%20Health%20Assembly%20in%202024 (Accessed 5 July 2024)
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Alan Petersen

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All articles in the Journal of Critical Public Health are published under a CC-BY-NC-ND license, or a CC-BY license if authors or their funders require this. The default CC-BY-NC-ND license means that authors and users may copy and distribute the material in any medium or format in un-adapted form only, for non-commercial purposes only, and only so long as proper credit is given (as is customary in academic work). Authors retain copyright of their work published in Journal of Critical Public Health.