Former leaders urge countries to complete pandemic accord negotiations

More than 100 former political leaders and other signatories have urged governments to accelerate negotiations on a proposed international Pandemic Accord under the World Health Organization. The open letter was issued during the ninth round of negotiations, which involved 194 countries and began in December 2021. Governments had set May 2024 as the target for reaching an agreement, with consideration by the World Health Assembly anticipated that month.

The signatories said an accord could strengthen capacity to detect dangerous pathogens, improve access to information about pathogens identified elsewhere, and support timely, equitable delivery of tests, treatments, vaccines, and other tools. They also called for provisions covering prompt reporting of risks and effective implementation of responses, and said public- and private-sector collaboration would be important.

The letter is an advocacy appeal, not a report of an agreed policy or evidence assessment. The proposed accord was still under negotiation when the appeal was made; the source describes participation in any instrument as voluntary and does not establish what provisions would ultimately be adopted. Its claims about potential benefits reflect the signatories’ position.