After the failure to secure a pandemic treaty draft ahead of this week’s World Health Assembly, questions are swirling about what happens next. Is there still hope to eke something out by the end of the week? Can another special session be held in a few months, at the end of the year, or even next year? Or does two years’ worth of negotiations simply go down the toilet?
For all the complexity, “the options are rather straightforward,” said Roland Driece, co-chair of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, tasked with negotiating the terms of a pandemic agreement.
“You can either continue with the aim of finishing it, or you could stop it. That’s all the flavors we have,” he said, adding that based on what he’s heard so far, the member states of the World Health Organization are opting for a continuation.