Five years after the world was in the grip of the COVID-19 pandemic, the deadline looms for finalizing a global pandemic preparedness treaty. The completion date for the treaty, which aims to address profound disparities in global health systems exposed by the COVID pandemic, has already been extended by one year to the World Health Assembly in May.
But the likelihood of reaching a comprehensive agreement by then is small. The impasse between developed economies and the Global South on issues from financing to benefit sharing is resulting in a dilution of the treaty’s commitments. The recent withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization suggests that even if a treaty is agreed, it may not be universally adopted.
But hope is not lost. To advance towards global health equity, lower-income countries must sidestep the deadlock with developed economies and look to each other for solutions.
