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The 74th World Health Assembly kicks off today, and top of mind is the potential for a pandemic treaty.
Last week, the EU Council adopted a decision supporting the launch of negotiations for a treaty during the WHA that would codify how the world responds to the next pandemic. But experts expect this to be politically challenging: Some member states want to focus on dealing with the current pandemic.
But if not now, when? asks Helen Clark, former prime minister of New Zealand and co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response. In an interview with Devex, Clark said the WHA needs to recognize that the system to respond to health emergencies needs to be fixed or “it’s going to be a pretty unhappy and troubled world.”
Here’s more of what we’ll be following:
• The Independent Panel’s report will be formally presented Tuesday, and we’ll have a deep dive on the recommendations with a panel of experts.
• Several member states want to institute a new intermediate alert level for health emergencies. How will they react to the International Health Regulations’ review committee’s assertion that alerts won’t solve the problem of inaction?
• After hours of negotiations, member states agreed on the text of the first diabetes-specific resolution to be put before the WHA. Advocates hope this will help galvanize action into the prevention and treatment of diabetes — if it’s adopted.
• We’ll also be following discussions on the health conditions in the Palestinian territories. In a divisive move, the WHA decided in November 2020 to ask WHO’s director-general to continue providing technical and programmatic support in the Palestinian territories, and report on progress regarding access to and provision of health care.
We are covering the week’s most important conversations. Register for our series of events to stay up to date.
WHO’s counting?
The member-state working group created in January to identify ways to address WHO’s unsustainable financing will be meeting for the third time after the WHA. But in its first report, the group has some takeaway for WHO — namely that it needs to do a better job in showing the impact of its work on the ground.
Could WHO’s new mid-term results report convince them? In a foreword, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that despite its challenges, the “past year has ... demonstrated why, more than ever, the world needs a strong and sustainable WHO.”
Missed opportunity
“Sadly, despite decades of warning and effort and an accelerating cycle of global infectious disease crises, we were not prepared to respond when the pandemic we all feared suddenly materialized.”
— Dr. Richard Hatchett, CEO at CEPI, speaking at the G-20 Global Health SummitVince Chadwick has the takeaways from Friday’s EU-hosted Global Health Summit.
Coin of the realm
Cryptocurrency billionaires are on the rise, and so, too, are their donations to NGOs. Vitalik Buterin, co-founder of Ethereum, recently donated 50 trillion tokens (that’s $1.2 billion) to COVID-19 relief in India, Catherine Cheney reports.
Crypto donations come with a new level of transparency, but also new complications, like extreme volatility in their value. So, to crypto, or not to crypto? Converting into cash is one option organizations are now considering.
Read: How nonprofits are navigating the rise of cryptocurrency giving
ICYMI: Clueless about crypto? Catch up on our Devex Pro beginner’s guide to cryptocurrency donations.
Why reinvent the (food systems) wheel?
Ahead of the upcoming U.N. 2021 Food Systems Pre-Summit in July, there have been calls for a new platform to take up the summit’s recommendations. But there’s just one problem: A panel of experts has already been convened to do just that.
Jennifer Clapp and other members of the Committee on World Food Security’s scientific advisory body lay out their recommendations in this op-ed.
In other news
Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines have been found to be effective against the COVID-19 mutation first identified in India. [BBC]
USAID will divert its funding for El Salvador to civil society groups, following President Nayib Bukele's allies’ move to dismiss the country's attorney general and five Supreme Court judges. [VOA]
At least 25,000 people have been displaced and more than 150 children are missing after Congo’s Mount Nyiragongo erupted on Saturday. [UN News]
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.
Amy Liebermanamylieberman
Amy Lieberman is the U.N. Correspondent for Devex. She covers the United Nations and reports on global development and politics. Amy previously worked as a freelance reporter, covering the environment, human rights, immigration, and health across the U.S. and in more than 10 countries, including Colombia, Mexico, Nepal, and Cambodia. Her coverage has appeared in the Guardian, the Atlantic, Slate, and the Los Angeles Times. A native New Yorker, Amy received her master’s degree in politics and government from Columbia’s School of Journalism.
