GENEVA — The head of the World Health Organization called on Monday for launching negotiations this year on an international treaty to boost pandemic preparedness, as part of sweeping reforms envisioned by member states.
The ministers from the WHO's 194 member states are to meet from Nov. 29 to decide whether to launch negotiations on the pandemic treaty. Under the resolution submitted by the European Union, and adopted by consensus, member states are to be firmly in the driver's seat of the reforms through a year-long process.
The new virus has infected more than 170 million people and killed nearly 3.7 million since emerging in China in late 2019, according to a Reuters tally of official national figures.WHO's emergencies director, Mike Ryan, welcomed the decisions, saying: "Right now the pathogens have the upper hand, they are emerging more frequently and often silently in a planet that is out of balance.