The failure to finalize a pandemic treaty at the 77th World Health Assembly this week is an especially painful blow to Africa, which bore the brunt of the inequities that materialized during the COVID-19 pandemic. But Dr. Jean Kaseya, head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, says he remains positive a deal can get done — possibly this year.
“Let us say we made huge progress. We managed to agree on around 75 to 80% of the text,” the director-general told Devex during its CheckUp @ WHA77 event in Geneva on Wednesday.
“Yesterday, you saw the South African ambassador, on behalf of all African countries, making the statement saying we want to finalize this agreement by the end of 2024. This is our position,” said Kaseya, whose agency served as an adviser to the African bloc of negotiators. “Africa needs this pandemic agreement. The world needs this pandemic agreement.”
About the author
Anna Gawel
Anna Gawel is the Managing Editor of Devex. She previously worked as the managing editor of The Washington Diplomat, the flagship publication of D.C.’s diplomatic community. She’s had hundreds of articles published on world affairs, U.S. foreign policy, politics, security, trade, travel and the arts on topics ranging from the impact of State Department budget cuts to Caribbean efforts to fight climate change. She was also a broadcast producer and digital editor at WTOP News and host of the Global 360 podcast. She holds a journalism degree from the University of Maryland in College Park.
