After a two-year gap, health ministers and their delegations are again convening in Geneva next week to debate and decide how to address urgent global health challenges, from the health needs in Ukraine to preparing the world for the next pandemic.
There are 73 items on the agenda of the 75th World Health Assembly, according to Dr. Timothy Armstrong, director of WHO’s department of governing bodies. So we’re expecting long days — and potentially nights too! — from the start of the meetings on Sunday until the assembly’s closure on May 28. We’ll both be on the ground reporting on the important decisions that member states will take and speaking with decision-makers. So feel free to send us any questions or tips at checkup@devex.com.
In the meantime, here are some of the issues we’re following:
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Ukraine. WHO’s director-general is expected to provide an assessment of the health situation in Ukraine. Russia is likely to participate in the meetings — even after the majority of WHO’s European member states condemned the country’s “military aggression against Ukraine” and called for the possible relocation of WHO’s Moscow-based regional Office for Noncommunicable Diseases.
+ Get a recap on the health care situation in Ukraine.
WHO financing. WHO’s working group on sustainable financing has reached a consensus in recommending an increase to member states’ annual assessed contributions to the agency. The proposed increase will be gradual and won’t start until May 2024. The final decision will be made next week. But Björn Kümmel, the working group’s chair, tells Jenny “all 194 member states [of the WHA] stand behind this outcome.”
Amendments to the International Health Regulations. The United States has already put forward proposals for targeted amendments to the IHR. But it remains to be seen whether member states will reach a consensus and when amendments are taken up for adoption. A leaked text shows that proposed amendments may not be adopted until the 77th WHA in 2024.
Pandemic treaty. No decision on a potential international pandemic instrument is expected at the 75th WHA, but a working draft for negotiations — and the negotiations themselves — could happen soon after. Precious Matsoso, co-chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body established in December 2021 to draft and negotiate a global accord on pandemic preparedness, tells Jenny that in the second week of June, the body will meet to discuss the working draft to be used for negotiations. If everyone agrees on that outline, she expects the draft to be adopted by the INB in July and for negotiations to soon follow.
Devex @ WHA 75
On May 25, Devex will host a series of conversations outside of Geneva’s Palais des Nations with decision-makers, policy experts, and civil society activists, including Dr. Atul Gawande, Loyce Pace, Precious Matsoso, Björn Kümmel, and Fatima Hassan, to give you expert analysis and insider coverage of the week’s most important conversations.
If you’re not in Geneva, don’t fret — we’ll livestream everything! Register now.
Meanwhile at WTO …
World Trade Organization members have entered into text-based negotiations on a proposal to waive intellectual property for COVID-19 vaccines this week, as Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged them to reach an agreement ahead of the institution’s ministerial conference next month, Andrew Green tells us.
The South African delegation emphasized that they must be included in any workable solution, while Switzerland raised questions about the necessity of any agreement given the relatively wide availability of vaccines.
+ Andrew is moderating a panel on The state of the TRIPS waiver and lessons for the future at Devex’s WHA side event. Make sure to tune in.
ICYMI: TRIPS waiver compromise tabled at WTO finds few takers
Join us
This week, the U.K. government finally released its new international development strategy. Though global health is identified as a priority, it is included as part of a bucket covering several major issues. For a deeper look at the strategy and what it all means, Devex Pro subscribers are invited to join U.K. Correspondent William Worley and a panel of experts for a special event on Friday, May 20. If you're not a Pro subscriber yet, sign up for a free trial to join.
Stuck in 2019
“If there were a new pandemic threat this year, next year … we will be largely in the same place as we were in December 2019.”
– Helen Clark, former co-chair, Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and ResponseThat’s Clark’s assessment of progress made on the panel’s recommendations a year ago to help the world respond to the COVID-19 emergency and prevent the next pandemic. Many of the reforms have yet to be fully implemented, according to a progress report.
Read more: Pandemic preparedness panel says reforms 'slow,' 'stuck' on process
Your thoughts?
With Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus set to start another term as WHO director-general in August, we’re curious to know: What is Tedros' biggest accomplishment in the past five years? What is his biggest failure as WHO chief? And what should he focus on in the next five years? Write to us at checkup@devex.com, and we may feature your responses in a future edition of CheckUp.
What we’re reading
In North Korea, more than 1 million people may have contracted COVID-19. [BBC]
Essential medicines have run out in Sri Lanka. [Al Jazeera]
To stop the pandemic, the world will need to work with “bad actors.” [Foreign Affairs]
About the authors
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.
Amruta Byatnalamrutabyatnal
Amruta Byatnal is a Senior Editor at Devex where she edits coverage on global development, humanitarian crises and international aid. She writes Devex CheckUp, a weekly newsletter on the latest developments in global health. Previously, she worked for News Deeply in the United States, and The Hindu in India. She is a graduate of Cornell University where she studied international development. She is currently based in New Delhi.
