Ebola reminder of urgent need to finish pandemic treaty: WHO chief
Pointing to several recent deadly disease outbreaks, he stressed that completing a pandemic treaty was "about protecting people"
Deadly outbreaks such as the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo underscore the critical need to finalize an international pandemic treaty, according to World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. The ninth meeting to finalize the deal opened in Geneva on Monday, with Tedros urging nations to complete the task.
He pointed to recent deadly disease outbreaks, including the hantavirus outbreak on a cruise ship in April and the latest Ebola outbreak in DRC, which has resulted in nearly 5,000 deaths out of over 10,000 cases. Tedros emphasized that an outbreak anywhere can become a threat everywhere, affecting people in every country. He reiterated that the Covid-19 pandemic taught us that no country can protect itself from pandemics by acting alone.
The Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system, which covers sharing access to pandemic potential pathogens and deriving benefits like vaccines, tests, and treatments, remains the final piece of the puzzle. Tedros stressed that completing this last element of the pandemic treaty is essential to unlocking a safer future.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
