World facing last chance to keep pandemic accord alive

Nations have spent the last two years drafting an international accord onpandemic prevention, preparedness and response, but remain far apart oncrucial issues such as vaccine equity and pathogen surveillance.
The planned final round of negotiations therefore missed the target offinishing the accord by Easter to make it ready for adoption by the WorldHealth Organization's 194 member states at their annual assembly starting onMay 27, reports BSS.
Countries will instead return to the WHO headquarters in Geneva for a do-or-die extra round of talks from April 29 to May 10.
Roland Driece, who is co-chairing the negotiations, wants nations to use thetime between now and then to climb out of their trenches and findcompromises.
"We want them to speak with each other, and not at each other," the Dutchhealth diplomat told AFP.
"That's the biggest challenge we have had: people speaking a lot -- theyspoke forever -- but sometimes it's not speaking with each other, but tellingthe other what you find important.
"You need to bridge your differences."
The main sticking points include sharing access to emerging pathogens, bettermonitoring of disease outbreaks, reliable financing, and transferringpandemic-fighting technology to poorer countries.
Sharpening minds ahead of the April-May talks, several countries have raisedthe spectre of another Covid-19, which shredded economies, overturnedsocieties, crippled health systems and killed millions.
- Focus and urgency -
"Everybody understands that failure is not really an option," said Driece.
"There's so many things in the world that require political attention:Ukraine, Gaza, climate change. It's our duty to keep the focus and theurgency."
Driece's Intergovernmental Negotiating Body will draw up a streamlined newdraft text by April 18, honing in on areas of common ground.
One European ambassador, frustrated by the process, said success would dependon getting a concise, convergence-oriented document to work from.
"It is about giving the right impulses for better prevention, preparednessand response. It's not about going into the deepest details on some sort ofmechanism," the diplomat told AFP, on condition of anonymity.
But some NGOs attending the talks fear a bare-bones revised draft will fudgeall the tricky topics -- and leave the world no less vulnerable to pandemics.
"So mentioning equity, but without the measures" to make it happen, MohgaKamal-Yanni of the People's Vaccine Alliance told AFP.
She said rich countries were not offering the financial support for ramped-uppathogen surveillance, nor firm commitments on technology transfer even forpublicly funded products or intellectual property rights waivers on toolslike vaccines.
"So for God's sake, what's left? Maintaining the unequal status that led towhat happened during Covid, and before that with HIV," she said.
The United States said on Friday it was committed to concluding an ambitiousaccord, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Health Secretary XavierBecerra saying American lives and jobs could not be protected "unless we arepreventing, detecting, and stopping outbreaks before they reach our shores".
- 'We will not give up' -
Alongside the African group, the 31-country Group for Equity has thus farheld firm in trying to ensure developing countries are not cut adrift again.
The group wants granting access to pathogens with pandemic potential to be ona clear equal footing with receiving equitable, fair and rapid sharing of thebenefits, including licences to produce pandemic counter-measures likevaccines in developing countries.
"A treaty with mere political rhetoric cannot be an outcome of this process,"Indonesia said on behalf of the group, as two weeks of negotiations closedThursday without agreement.
"We must be bold, courageous and sincere to have an effective and equitabletreaty."
Mexico said it was concerned by the "limited progress", while the Philippinessaid the talks had to acknowledge they were not succeeding.
"We cannot keep on repeating priorities like lists of demands. Reasonableadjustments must not be seen as capitulation," its representative said.
Meanwhile, Colombia's negotiator said any agreement "must avoid a completeand general collapse of solidarity".
"We will not give up because it would be giving up on all those people whohave suffered."
K. M. Gopakumar, senior researcher with the Third World Network NGO, told AFPthat the talks' process started with equity promised at the heart ofeverything.
"When they reached the real issues, politics overtook the noble ambitions. Sonow it's much more economic strategic interests driving the negotiationsabove public health concerns," he said.