Inside Geneva: is the world brave enough to agree on a pandemic treaty? – SWI swissinfo.ch in English

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Four years ago, our lives were upended by the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries locked down, millions became ill, millions died. And when the vaccine finally arrived, it was not fairly distributed. Rich countries bought too many, poor countries waited, with nothing.

This content was published on May 14, 2024 - 10:00

Imogen Foulkes

Imogen Foulkes reports from Geneva for SWI swissinfo.ch as well as the BBC.

What we saw during the Covid-19 pandemic was collapse. Basically, a complete failure of international cooperation, says Suerie Moon, from the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute.

Surely we can do better? Countries are gathering in Geneva to try to hammer out a pandemic treaty. Do they have the vision? And the courage?

Theres been so much lip service paid to equity, but when it actually comes to nailing down what that means, and how to avoid a repeat, it seems like governments are struggling, says Kerry Cullinan, deputy editor of Health Policy Watch.

What about the vaccine manufacturers? Are they ready to share?

Thomas Cueni, outgoing head of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers, says: Ive always been of the view that no treaty is better than a bad treaty. Have a good treaty, I think it would be great.

Are we going to be better equipped for the next pandemic?

I think it would be an insult to the seven million people plus who died during the pandemic for there not to be a historic agreement, says Cullinan.

Join host Imogen Foulkes on our Inside Geneva podcast to learn more about this treaty.

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Inside Geneva: is the world brave enough to agree on a pandemic treaty? - SWI swissinfo.ch in English