Devex CheckUp: UNGA’s pandemic declaration — historic or disappointing?

Life is pretty much back to normal in New York. Most aren’t masking even at the United Nations headquarters where heads of state and government ministers rush from one meeting to another during this week’s U.N. General Assembly. But what if, in the midst of this busy week, a new virus emerges, unknowingly infecting people who travelled to the city for UNGA. Is the world ready for another outbreak? Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and co-chair of WHO's Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness, posed this question to heads of state and government ministers on Wednesday, as they agreed with no objections on the political declaration for the U.N. high level-meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the declaration’s approval marks a “historic day for public health.” However, many global health leaders and civil society organizations were visibly disappointed. Even before the meeting began, they found the text of the declaration lacking bold ambition and the specifics to ensure the world is better prepared for the next pandemic. Médecins Sans Frontières said in a statement that it is “disappointed that the declaration fails to make the ambitious commitments necessary to best help people during infectious disease outbreaks, epidemics, and pandemics.” But it was clear from the statements of heads of state and government ministers at the meeting that they are eyeing the ongoing process in Geneva on a pandemic accord to address many of the issues that emerged during the COVID-19 global emergency — such as unequal access to vaccines and the limited capacities of many low- and middle-income countries to produce them. “We believe that the issue of pandemic preparedness, prevention, and response can be best addressed through a legally binding treaty as mandated by the World Health Assembly,” said Pakistan caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar. Read: Advocates say the UN pandemic meeting was a dud. What's next? + This afternoon Eastern Standard Time, catch the livestream of the Devex @ UNGA 78 news summit. Jenny will be hosting panels on health accountability mechanisms; pandemic preparedness and prevention; and climate change's impact on health. She'll be joined by Lawrence Gostin, Nina Schwalbe, Richard Hatchett, Joy Phumaphi, and Vanessa Kerry among others. Register now to watch. Plan B? “At the moment we need the negotiations to succeed in Geneva. If they don't, we need a backup plan.” --— Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, a member of The Elders and former U.N. high commissioner for human rights During an UNGA side event this week on preventing the next crisis, Al Hussein raised the question of why the pandemic accord is being negotiated in Geneva, when the issue of pandemics is larger than just health. He said that if by the end of the year, the process being led by the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a pandemic accord remains unclear, someone has to say “Enough of this. We need to shift it back to New York.” “It’s courageous to speak when no one does speak. And then at that moment when everyone is terrified of the consequences of saying something, that’s when you have to say it,” he said. Everyone’s fight In efforts to eradicate wild polio, the world is down to just two remaining countries where the virus is still endemic — Afghanistan and Pakistan. It’s been a decadeslong process and everyone in the global health community has a “huge interest” in seeing eradication realized, said John Hewko, the general secretary of Rotary International, during a Devex event on the sidelines of UNGA. “If we succeed, we have then demonstrated that it is possible to pull this sort of thing off — this extraordinary global effort. Not only eradicate the second disease in human history, but demonstrate that it can be done,” he said. But if efforts fail, he added, it would be “very, very difficult” to rally the world again around a similar initiative. Because of this, it’s important for health practitioners to not think of this as yesterday's disease, he said. “It really isn’t. It really is today’s disease.” A wake-up call? As world leaders meet in New York, the UHC Movement Political Advisory Panel has raised concern about Sustainable Development Goal 3 on good health and well-being getting sidelined. This year’s global monitoring report which tracks progress on universal health coverage found that all UHC indicators are far off track, service coverage is stagnating, and financial protection has worsened. In an op-ed for Devex, the group argues that “strong political commitment to health is the only way to reverse this trend that is leaving people without access to essential health services, compromising our health security, and exacerbating inequities worldwide.” They called on world leaders to show that they are truly committed to protecting people and the planet by keeping health on the highest political agenda, ensuring the political independence of health policy frameworks, and turning their commitments into sustained action. Opinion: Health is falling off the UN agenda, but time for action is now Lunch date The race to lead WHO’s Western Pacific office is heating up. Last week, candidates vying for the regional director position fielded member states’ questions in a unique online public forum meant to gauge their priorities and fitness for the job. Top of mind was rebuilding trust among staff after the organization’s last leader, Dr. Takeshi Kasai, was dismissed from the job over misconduct. Staff accused Kasai of often using racist language toward staffers of certain nationalities and described an office culture that was “toxic” under his leadership. One of the five candidates for the job, Dr. Saia Ma’u Piukala, the current minister of health of Tonga, said that if he’s elected “there will be zero tolerance to any misbehavior.” He said the regional office needs a culture change and called the effort “healing hearts” — a process in which “staff feel they are part of the team” and are supported and empowered. Dr. Susan Mercado from the Philippines said she would make herself accessible to staff and would be willing to have lunch with “anybody at any time” at the office cafeteria. The vote will take place next month along with two other regional director elections in Southeast Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions. Read: WHO Western Pacific candidates vow to rebuild staff trust ICYMI: Experts urge more scrutiny of WHO regional elections after racism scandal One big number 30% --— That’s the amount of USAID health funding that should be funneled to local organizations by 2025, according to Atul Gawande, the head of the agency’s global health bureau. This goal exceeds Administrator Samantha Power’s target of 25%, and his bureau has already reached 20%. The bureau has had a head start in channeling money to local organizations due to its management of funding for PEPFAR, the U.S. global AIDS initiative led by the State Department. PEPFAR adopted a target of 70% local funding under the leadership of Dr. Deborah Birx and has already reached that threshold. Gawande said during a USAID event last week that other global health programs fall far short of these goals, with some channeling as low as 3% of funding through local organizations. Read: Gawande wants USAID's global health bureau to hit 30% local funding Related: How USAID funding for local contractors increased by 169.8% in 2022 (Pro) + Not a Devex Pro member yet? Start your 15-day free trial of Pro today to unlock the article and all our exclusive reporting and analysis. What we’re reading Bangladesh is facing its worst dengue outbreak, with the climate crisis increasing transmission. [DW] The U.N. warns that disease outbreaks could create a “second devastating crisis” in Libya’s flooded northeast. [Associated Press] The U.N.’s refugee agency and WHO warn of deteriorating health conditions in Sudan as more than 1,200 children die of suspected measles and high malnutrition. [WHO] Indian authorities have started mass testing in Kerala to halt the spread of the deadly Nipah virus. [The Guardian]