Extracts below from Reuters news agency. Read online: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/how-world-he...
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GENEVA, Feb 24 (Reuters) - Negotiations on new rules for dealing with pandemics will begin at the World Health Organization on Thursday, with a target date of May 2024 for a treaty to be adopted by the U.N. health agency's 194 member countries...
Suggested proposals for the pact include the sharing of data and genome sequences of emerging viruses and rules on equitable vaccine distribution. read more
The European Union is pushing for a ban on wildlife markets and incentives for reporting of new viruses or variants, an EU official told Reuters. [ https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/exclusive-eu... ]
Member states have an August deadline to decide on an initial version of the pact, which is backed by WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He is likely to be elected unopposed for a second term in May.
It would be only the second such health accord after the 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, a legally-binding treaty which aims to reduce smoking via taxation and rules on labelling and advertising.
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Neil Pakenham-Walsh, HIFA Coordinator, neil@hifa.org www.hifa.org
