* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Thursday, July 3, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

    BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

    Nantucket Dance Festival opens July 8 – The Inquirer and Mirror

    Nantucket Dance Festival Launches with Thrilling Performances Beginning July 8

    A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse Netflix and YRF Entertainment’s ‘Mandala Murders’ Premieres July 25 – About Netflix

    A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse: Dive into the Chilling World of ‘Mandala Murders’ Premiering July 25

    Susquehanna Raises Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN) Price Target. – Yahoo Finance

    Susquehanna Raises Price Target for Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN)

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Inspira Technologies Secures Landmark $22.5M Deal: Major Revenue Breakthrough After FDA Clearance – Stock Titan

    Inspira Technologies Secures Landmark $22.5M Deal: Major Revenue Breakthrough After FDA Clearance – Stock Titan

    Meiwu Technology Company Limited and Shenzhen Zhinuo – GlobeNewswire

    Meiwu Technology Company Limited and Shenzhen Zhinuo – GlobeNewswire

    Owls inspire new revolutionary noise reduction technology – KTEN

    Owls inspire new revolutionary noise reduction technology – KTEN

    New center coming to Mizzou will focus on energy research and technology – Columbia Missourian

    Mizzou Launches Innovative New Center Dedicated to Energy Research and Technology

    Mirrors in space and underwater curtains: can technology buy us enough time to save the Arctic ice caps? – The Guardian

    Can Technology Like Space Mirrors and Underwater Curtains Buy Us Time to Save the Arctic Ice Caps?

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

    BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

    Nantucket Dance Festival opens July 8 – The Inquirer and Mirror

    Nantucket Dance Festival Launches with Thrilling Performances Beginning July 8

    A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse Netflix and YRF Entertainment’s ‘Mandala Murders’ Premieres July 25 – About Netflix

    A Secret Society, Ritualistic Killings, and a Century-Old Curse: Dive into the Chilling World of ‘Mandala Murders’ Premiering July 25

    Susquehanna Raises Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN) Price Target. – Yahoo Finance

    Susquehanna Raises Price Target for Penn Entertainment Inc. (PENN)

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    George Lopez is coming to Spokane – KXLY.com

    Netflix unveils Dallas immersive venue for fans of hit shows like ‘Squid Game,’ ‘Stranger Things’ – Houston Chronicle

    Step Inside Netflix’s New Dallas Immersive Experience Featuring Hits Like ‘Squid Game’ and ‘Stranger Things

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    Inspira Technologies Secures Landmark $22.5M Deal: Major Revenue Breakthrough After FDA Clearance – Stock Titan

    Inspira Technologies Secures Landmark $22.5M Deal: Major Revenue Breakthrough After FDA Clearance – Stock Titan

    Meiwu Technology Company Limited and Shenzhen Zhinuo – GlobeNewswire

    Meiwu Technology Company Limited and Shenzhen Zhinuo – GlobeNewswire

    Owls inspire new revolutionary noise reduction technology – KTEN

    Owls inspire new revolutionary noise reduction technology – KTEN

    New center coming to Mizzou will focus on energy research and technology – Columbia Missourian

    Mizzou Launches Innovative New Center Dedicated to Energy Research and Technology

    Mirrors in space and underwater curtains: can technology buy us enough time to save the Arctic ice caps? – The Guardian

    Can Technology Like Space Mirrors and Underwater Curtains Buy Us Time to Save the Arctic Ice Caps?

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Naples restaurant owner prepares for hurricane season with new flood technology – Fox4Now.com

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Treaty on pandemics: Why nations seek it. Why it’s so hard.

February 29, 2024
in Science
Treaty on pandemics: Why nations seek it. Why it’s so hard.
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

In the wake of the pandemic, there was a widespread feeling of urgency, a question of, how could we do better next time?

The World Health Organization sought to use that moment to come up with a plan for more unified global action – not just for responding to future pandemics, but for preventing and preparing for them as well.

Why We Wrote This

Talks convened by the World Health Organization seek to address issues of pandemic prevention and response, from transparency and global equity to misinformation. But consensus is difficult to reach.

Now, negotiators are in the final months of a two-year process to come up with a new pandemic agreement to do just that.

The agreement would address three main governance gaps: spillovers of diseases between humans and other species; a lack of a cohesive global framework for sharing information on pathogens, including for vaccine development; and equity issues such as uneven distribution of vaccines.

Participation is high, but so is tension.

There is a divide between the Global North and the Global South. Developed countries are focused mainly on preventing outbreaks from coming in over their borders. Developing countries seek greater health equity after feeling left behind during the last pandemic.

And in the U.S. Congress, Republicans worry the agreement would strengthen the WHO’s hand at the expense of U.S. interests – including free speech and freedom of religion – and greater accountability for China.

In the wake of the pandemic, there was a widespread feeling of urgency, a question of, how could we do better next time?

The World Health Organization sought to use that moment to come up with a plan for more unified global action – not just for responding to future pandemics, but for preventing and preparing for them as well.

Now, negotiators are in the final months of a two-year process to come up with a new pandemic treaty or agreement to do just that. 

Why We Wrote This

Talks convened by the World Health Organization seek to address issues of pandemic prevention and response, from transparency and global equity to misinformation. But consensus is difficult to reach.

“We must seize the opportunities to improve global preparedness and response and to work together to find solutions,” says a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services, which together with the State Department is leading U.S. involvement in the talks. “Infectious diseases do not respect national borders.” 

Safeguarding the United States means expanding global as well as domestic capabilities, the Biden administration says. But as representatives from around the world meet in Geneva this week for the eighth round of negotiations, they face an uphill climb ahead of a late May deadline. 

There is a divide between the Global North and the Global South. Developed countries are focused mainly on preventing outbreaks from coming in over their borders. Developing countries seek greater health equity after feeling left behind during the last pandemic. A parallel effort to strengthen the legally binding International Health Regulations, last revised nearly 20 years ago, has muddied the waters – with some countries trying to shoehorn their priorities into the amended regulations, in case the agreement fails to pass. 

Meanwhile in the U.S., congressional Republicans and their allies are pushing back against the Biden administration’s involvement in the talks. They say the process reflects little attempt to review or learn from the WHO’s track record during the pandemic. They also argue that the proposed agreement would strengthen the WHO’s hand at the expense of U.S. interests – including free speech and freedom of religion.

“We must ensure that the final draft does not violate our national sovereignty or infringe upon the rights of the American people,” said Ohio Rep. Brad Wenstrup, a doctor and chair of a special subcommittee investigating the COVID-19 pandemic, at a Feb. 5 House GOP press conference.

The event was convened by Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs subcommittee on global health. He said there has been “far too little scrutiny” of the legally binding agreement and its impact on U.S. health policy.

Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA/AP

Republican Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey speaks at a press conference about the World Health Organization’s “pandemic treaty,” at the Capitol in Washington, Feb. 5, 2024. He says there has been far too little scrutiny of the legally binding agreement and its impact on U.S. health policy.

A treaty by any other name?

The agreement is essentially a treaty but is not so named – and would therefore not have to clear the hurdle of Senate ratification by two-thirds vote.

“If you look at the text, it looks like a treaty; it tastes like a treaty; it smells like a treaty. But negotiators have avoided using the term ‘treaty,’ in particular not to raise political problems in the U.S. Congress,” says Gian Luca Burci, the former legal counsel for the WHO and now a visiting professor of international law at the Graduate Institute in Geneva. But what matters, he adds, is not the label but the content.

The agreement would address three main governance gaps: spillovers of diseases between humans and other species; a lack of a cohesive global framework for sharing information on pathogens, including for vaccine development; and equity issues such as uneven distribution of vaccines. Some experts say an agreement that addresses those three gaps, even if modestly, would be a significant step of progress.

The most recent public draft, from late October, lays out a framework of principles but does not get into detailed proposals for implementation. With so little time left in the negotiations before a planned vote in late May, the details will likely either be unveiled at the 11th hour or worked out after the fact, including in annual follow-up meetings. There would also be a process for passing amendments, which would require support from at least two-thirds of signatories. Amendments would only come into force for nations that accepted them.

“The idea that this somehow is going to deeply impinge on American sovereignty implies that it’s going to be a really intense maximalist kind of international agreement – and it’s not heading in that direction right now,” says Ian Johnstone, a professor of international law at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a United Nations consultant. But he adds that treaties generally involve giving up “a little bit of sovereignty” for the sake of a broader public policy goal.

Concerns about free speech, Chinese influence

Republicans and their allies are concerned about where a framework agreement could head, however, citing the WHO’s bending to political pressure from China, whose Communist Party espouses a different model of global governance.

Former Ambassador Andrew Bremberg, the U.S. representative to the WHO during the pandemic, said at the Feb. 5 event that not one of the proposed agreement’s provisions under consideration would deal with the No. 1 issue: China’s lack of transparency and accountability. In 2020, earlier epidemiological data could have helped the U.S. and other countries understand the nature and scope of the outbreak sooner – and thereby respond more effectively.

Another key concern is Article 18, which calls for combating misinformation through international collaboration. Critics say that could exacerbate the suppression of dissenting viewpoints, which conservatives see as systematized censorship. 

Some on the right are also worried that such an agreement could give global backing to controversial policies, such as the Biden administration’s vaccine mandates. Professor Burci says the International Health Regulations are trying to facilitate mutual recognition of vaccine certificates but not to require vaccination, which remains a decision for each government.

“We will not sign on to an accord that in any way undermines our national sovereignty, our health security, or the ability of Americans to make decisions about their own health care,” says a senior Biden administration official, describing the primary U.S. goal in these negotiations as protecting Americans from future pandemics.

When the U.S. agreed to the International Health Regulations, it formally reserved the right to assume those obligations in accord with its “fundamental principles of federalism.” However, the pandemic agreement would not allow any such reservations, at least according to the latest public draft. The next two-week round of negotiations is scheduled to begin March 18.

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : The Christian Science Monitor – https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2024/0228/Treaty-on-pandemics-Why-nations-seek-it.-Why-it-s-so-hard?icid=rss

Tags: pandemicsscienceTreaty
Previous Post

McConnell to step down as Senate leader: ‘It’s time to move on’

Next Post

Tough Texas immigration law nears. Residents have questions.

SRT Returns: Stellantis Revives Its High-Performance Street and Racing Division

July 3, 2025
Josh Hart Delivers Promise to Fans After Knicks’ Recent Move – Yahoo Sports

Josh Hart Delivers Promise to Fans After Knicks’ Recent Move – Yahoo Sports

July 3, 2025
LensToLens: Wetlands guard bird species from plateau to urban landscape – Xinhua

How Wetlands Safeguard Bird Species Across Plateaus and Urban Landscapes

July 3, 2025
Commentary: Vatican defends science from politics, ideology and misinformation – The Salt Lake Tribune

Vatican Takes a Bold Stand: Defending Science from Politics, Ideology, and Misinformation

July 2, 2025
Scientists Merged 3 Human Brains by Thought Alone – Popular Mechanics

Scientists Achieve Mind-Blowing Feat by Merging Three Human Brains Through Thought Alone

July 3, 2025
Retired woman shares inside look at lifestyle after moving into unconventional tiny home: ‘The best decision I’ve ever made’ – The Cool Down

Retired Woman Reveals Life-Changing Joys of Living in an Unconventional Tiny Home: “The Best Decision I’ve Ever Made

July 2, 2025
​​World Rural Development Day: Refugee-Led Farming Projects That Are Feeding the World – USA for UNHCR

​​World Rural Development Day: Refugee-Led Farming Projects That Are Feeding the World – USA for UNHCR

July 2, 2025
Trump’s economy: A weak link in MAGA’s chain – The Hill

Trump’s economy: A weak link in MAGA’s chain – The Hill

July 2, 2025
BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

BTS Announce Their Big Return and Yes, They Already Have Some Major Plans in the Works – Yahoo

July 2, 2025
About 17 Million More People Could be Uninsured due to the Big Beautiful Bill and other Policy Changes – KFF

How the Big Beautiful Bill and Policy Changes Could Leave 17 Million More People Uninsured

July 2, 2025

Categories

Archives

July 2025
MTWTFSS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031 
« Jun    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (702)
  • Economy (728)
  • Entertainment (21,616)
  • General (15,681)
  • Health (9,767)
  • Lifestyle (732)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (729)
  • Politics (735)
  • Science (15,946)
  • Sports (21,226)
  • Technology (15,712)
  • World (709)

Recent News

SRT Returns: Stellantis Revives Its High-Performance Street and Racing Division

July 3, 2025
Josh Hart Delivers Promise to Fans After Knicks’ Recent Move – Yahoo Sports

Josh Hart Delivers Promise to Fans After Knicks’ Recent Move – Yahoo Sports

July 3, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version