WHO pandemic treaty to be negotiated in Geneva on 18–29 March
The World Health Organization (WHO) is preparing a pandemic treaty to improve global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. The next round of treaty negotiations will be held in Geneva on 18–29 March, and Finland will take part in the negotiations.
Pandemics cross national borders, which is why combating them requires effective international cooperation. In December 2021, the WHO’s World Health Assembly decided that efforts would be made to strengthen global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response by means of a separate treaty. Since then, several rounds of negotiations have been conducted.
The pandemic treaty is to be adopted at the World Health Assembly in May 2024. The aim is to conclude the negotiations in Geneva in March.
Finland supports global justice and opposes new financial commitments
Finland participates in the treaty negotiations as part of the European Union, which forms the common positions for the negotiations. Parliament has been kept informed of the different stages of the negotiations, and it has taken part in forming Finland’s positions for the negotiations.
Finland considers it important that the treaty will strengthen global pandemic prevention, preparedness and response as well as global justice during pandemics. Effective monitoring systems and cooperation between different sectors and countries are needed to prevent and prepare for pandemics. It is important to continue to respect national competence in the future, too. In other words, the treaty cannot restrict national competence during health threats.
For Finland, it is important that the treaty will not create new binding financial commitments. Instead, the existing financing mechanisms and instruments should be used more effectively.
International Health Regulations and pandemic treaty support one another
Since November 2022, the WHO Member States have negotiated amendments to the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR), the purpose of which is to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of diseases. The aim is that the pandemic treaty and the IHR will complement one another.
The IHR amendments, just like the pandemic treaty, are to be adopted at the World Health Assembly in May. The IHR amendments will be negotiated next at the end of April.
If the pandemic treaty and the IHR amendments are adopted at the World Health Assembly in May, each WHO Member State will process and commit to them in accordance with its constitutional processes.
Inquiries:
Pasi Korhonen, Director for International Affairs, tel. +358 295 163 175, firstname.lastname(at)gov.fi