„No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone,“ a joint letter from world leaders states.
Leaders from dozens of countries around the world have signed onto a joint statement calling for the creation of an international treaty that would address pandemics that will come about in the future. In a joint press release published on Tuesday, leaders recognized that addressing future pandemics would require a joint global cooperative effort. The document outlined a number of possible ways in which the mitigation of outbreaks in the years ahead can be achieved, including the creation of a better joint alert system, data sharing and research between member states, and the sharing of supplies between countries in general, including personal protective equipment, medicines, diagnostics and vaccines. Nations signing onto the document include countries from Asia, Africa, Europe and Latin America. The document also includes the support of the European Union and the World Health Organization (WHO). Notably, leaders from the United States and China are not yet signatories to the document. But according to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, both nations are receptive to the idea. “From the discussions we had, during member states’ sessions, the comment from member states, including the U.
