WS 10 - A New Pandemic Treaty: The “Bretton Woods” Moment for Global Health?

In April 2021, numerous heads of government and international agencies came together to champion the establishment of a new international pandemic treaty. Supporters consider the treaty a crucial tool to make the COVID-19 “the pandemic to end all pandemics” and urge the harnessing of the political momentum to invest in pandemic preparedness and response.

Yet are the high expectations of the treaty as a transformative tool of global health warranted? And can they be fulfilled at all with a new legal instrument? What would be the added benefit of a treaty to the existing International Health Regulations? And how will the international community overcome practical issues such as the lack of accountability and funds for preparedness and response capacities in low- and middle-income countries or the challenges of a truly multisectoral and multi-stakeholder response?

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