British people, the NHS, and the UK economy will be better protected against future global health threats thanks to a new World Health Organization Pandemic Agreement adopted by the UK.
The new Pandemic Agreement marks a significant step forward in stronger domestic and global prevention by improving the way countries around the world work together to detect and combat pandemic threats.
Adopted at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, the agreement respects national sovereignty while encouraging nations to work together more effectively to address shared global health threats, in turn helping strengthen national security, a key part of the government’s Plan for Change.
Minister of State for International Development, Baroness Chapman, explained: “The Pandemic Agreement is a great example of the UK working with our partners to support countries to combat disease and strengthen their health systems.
“Acting together will help us to prevent pandemics, and prepare for and respond to any future pandemic threats.”
New Pandemic Agreement ensures history won’t repeat itself
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enduring impact on lives and livelihoods around the world. Thousands of families in the UK lost loved ones, children missed out on pivotal learning and development opportunities, and businesses were forced to close their doors.
Moreover, the estimated cost of the UK Government’s COVID-19 measures was over £300bn.
The new Pandemic Agreement will help avoid a repeat of this devastation by creating a framework for countries to take action together to better prevent pandemics. It will improve disease surveillance to detect and respond to new health threats sooner, and speed up the innovation of life-saving vaccines and treatments.
The aim is to prevent pandemic threats from emerging in the first place and stop them in their tracks when they do.
It will facilitate swifter pathogen and pathogen data sharing to act quickly to prevent further spread. It will also enable the UK to develop vaccines, treatments, and tests faster, which will help save lives and drive economic growth in the UK’s world-leading life sciences sector.
International collaboration to drive global health security
124 Member States agreed to adopt the Pandemic Agreement today, demonstrating a strong international commitment to multilateralism and collective action to strengthen global health security.
The final text represents a strong outcome for the UK, with key wins including:
- Commitments on pandemic prevention, including for health, animal, and environmental sectors, to collaborate through a ‘One Health’ approach, a major step toward preventing disease spillover from animals to humans.
- Provisions that will foster innovation, enhance global research and development, and strengthen supply chains.
“It is gratifying to see the Pandemic Agreement adopted. It is clear that international co-operation and collaboration must be at the very heart of our pandemic preparedness strategy if it is to be effective, and this agreement is a welcome step towards making the world a safer place from pandemic threats,” said UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) Chief Executive Dame Jenny Harries.
Faster access to new vaccines made possible
In addition, the Pandemic Agreement paves the way for a new and voluntary Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system, which will see pharmaceutical companies get faster access to the pathogens and genetic sequences that they need to create new vaccines, treatments, and tests to respond to a pandemic.
In return, manufacturers who voluntarily sign up to the system will share a portion of their production with the World Health Organization to allocate where it is most needed.
The PABS system is entirely voluntary for pharmaceutical companies, who may choose to join to gain faster access to pathogen data for innovation. There are no requirements placed on governments to share vaccines or treatments they have purchased.
