Preparing for future: Global Leaders back treaty to fight potential pandemics

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Summary

• Several nations have come together to support a global treaty to protect them from future health emergencies as they continue to grapple with the ongoing pandemic.
• The proposed treaty will guarantee universal and equal access to vaccinations, drugs, and diagnostics for pandemics.
• Leaders from 25 geographies participated in backing the treaty.

In an effort to fight against future health crises like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, global leaders from 25 countries and the World Health Organization have come together to back an international treaty, signing a letter of agreement on March 30, 2021.

According to a joint opinion article published in several publications, the leaders said that there would be pandemics and major health emergencies in the future, and no single government can address such threats.

The idea of a global treaty was put on the table by Charles Michel, the chairman of European Union leaders, at a G20 Summit last November. A draft treaty resolution will be discussed and addressed at the agency's annual meeting in May.

The treaty will guarantee universal and equal access to vaccinations, drugs, and diagnostics for future pandemics.

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The treaty was backed by the WHO along with 25 countries, including the Netherlands, Tunisia, Senegal, Spain, Norway, Serbia, Indonesia, Fiji, Portugal, Romania, Britain, Rwanda, Kenya, France, Germany, Greece, Korea, Chile, Costa Rica, Albania, South Africa, Thailand, Trinidad &Tobago, Italy, and Ukraine.

The letter's signatories include UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, among other leaders. The US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping have not participated in the proposal yet.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic change the world?

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed millions of lives worldwide and continues to pose a severe threat to public health, food systems, and workplace safety.

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As policymakers struggle with the new lockdown policies to combat the virus's spread, national economies and companies experience the aftereffects.

Many people are also uncertain how will the recovery process move ahead despite the launch of multiple vaccines.

Economic Impact

As the number of Covid-19 cases rose in the early months of the crisis, the FTSE, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and Nikkei all witnessed substantial declines.

Due to the big swings in capital markets (a place where companies' shares are bought and sold), people felt the considerable impact on the valuation of pensions and individual savings accounts.

Although major markets like the Asian and US stock markets have recovered after the announcement of COVID-19 vaccines, FTSE and others are still not out of the woods. FTSE dropped 14.3 per cent in 2020, something not seen since 2008.

Many banks have also squeezed the interest rates. Therefore, analysts are worried about what another lockdown (a scenario that is likely given the delays in vaccines) would do to the economy.

How will the new treaty help the nations?

The joint treaty would aim to prepare the nations against such pandemics in the future. The pandemic impacted multiple sectors, with hospitality and travel taking the biggest hit. 2020 also witnessed a record number of job losses, with unemployment almost reaching its nadir.

Given the challenges the entire world has been facing, the leaders from 25 nations have extended their support to the treaty to ensure that the world is better prepared in case of another such event. 

Boris Johnson has been advocating for a more innovative and inclusive global response to the pandemic. Last month, he petitioned fellow G7 leaders to accept the initiative, stressing the value of improved international health data sharing.

The UK PM has also led calls for affluent nations to donate excess vaccine stocks to the UN-led COVX programme, which distributes vaccines to the world's poorest countries. The G7 is also planning to offer financial aid to developing countries whose economies have been hit hard by the pandemic.

Also Read: A look at the latest updates on COVID-19 vaccines across the globe