EU floats proposal for int'l treaty on pandemics

An international treaty on pandemics should be in place within the framework of the World Health Organization to improve international cooperation and response in this regard, according to head of the European Council, reported Xinhua.

Speaking at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, the European Council President Charles Michel said the treaty should target more effective risk monitoring, alert and information sharing, better financing and coordination for research, access to vaccines, treatment and tests as well as having resilient healthcare system.

"We need to develop our knowledge and surveillance of the emergence of infectious diseases in animals, of which the transmission to humans is the foremost epidemiological risk," said Michel in a pre-recorded speech.

The Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, a global collaboration to accelerate development, production, and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments, and vaccines, should serve as a model for developing a rapid scientific and industrial response capacity, according to Michel.

Michel said a more extensive scale of alert levels may need to be developed so as to have higher transparency and serve as a basis for effective communication.

While universal access to the new COVID-19 vaccines is fundamental, access to vaccines, treatment and tests for future pandemics must be guaranteed in a treaty, according to Michel.

The global challenge of how to strengthen healthcare systems in the event of a pandemic also needs to be addressed involving supply chains of medical products and equipment as well as functioning of international trade, according to the head of the European Council.

Michel added that other international organizations and agencies concerned also should be involved in the treaty.

The two-day special session will primarily consist of a general debate on Thursday and interactive dialogues with experts, UN agencies and leading scientists, on Friday.