Ebola reminder of urgent need to finish pandemic treaty: WHO chief

Deadly outbreaks like the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo underscore the necessity of completing an international pandemic treaty, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) chief. The WHO chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, emphasized the urgency of finalizing the treaty during the ninth meeting towards its completion in Geneva.

While wealthy and developing nations remain divided on the practical implementation of the agreement, Ghebreyesus stressed that a pathogen threat anywhere can become a threat everywhere, affecting people of every country. He cited the recent hantavirus outbreak and the ongoing Ebola epidemic as examples of the global threat posed by pandemics.

The WHO chief highlighted that the agreement's Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system, which deals with the sharing of access to pathogens and benefits derived from them, remains the last remaining piece of the puzzle. Ghebreyesus stressed that completing the treaty is crucial to unlocking the door to a safer future, as the inequities seen during the Covid-19 pandemic have cost lives, prolonged the pandemic, and increased the risk of new variants.