Global health crisis board urges simulation for future pandemics.

The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB), a body convened by the World Health Organization (WHO), has called for a worldwide pandemic simulation to be carried out by the end of this year. The aim is to test the effectiveness of new pandemic agreements before member nations sign them in 2024. As 194 nations continue to work through drafts of pandemic agreements, the GPMB has stressed the need to know how well the pandemic accord and the International Health Regulations (IHR) amendments will work before the next emergency arises.

“We feel very strongly that we cannot wait for the next emergency to find out how well the pandemic accord and the IHR amendments will work; we need to know now,”

The negotiations to centralize pandemic-related action within the WHO have been ongoing throughout this spring. They include a “zero draft” WHO pandemic accord and amendments to International Health Regulations (IHRs), as well as discussions among various WHO subcommittees, U.N. organizations, and finance arms like the World Bank. The current round of negotiations on the pandemic accord and IHR amendments have gone on behind closed doors in Geneva, but statements from some of the ancillary groups like the GPMB may shed light on the tone of the discussions.

Manifesto for Preparedness

Phumaphi said that the GPMB’s “Manifesto for Preparedness” includes three “tests” for the treaty and IHR amendments. These are whether the treaty and IHR amendments are “sufficiently powerful,” whether they “deliver equity and coherence,” and whether they “have robust mechanisms for monitoring and accountability.”

Negotiations Proceed in Secret

In April, delegates from the United States agreed with a Chinese proposal that new IHR drafts would not be shared with the public. This has led to concerns about transparency and trust in the process. Several nonprofit organizations and health experts have written to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and Secretary of State Antony Blinken protesting the secrecy of the negotiations.

“The attempt to create a veil of secrecy now surrounding the substantive and technical text-based negotiations on the WHO pandemic treaty sets a dangerous precedent for norm-setting at the multilateral level,”

The GPMB’s Manifesto for Preparedness states that “the success of these reforms will largely be dependent on the adoption of a coordinated, One Health approach to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR) that involves all countries, international and regional organizations, financial institutions, and the private sector.”

Broadening the Scope of Pandemic Response

“One Health” refers to the broadening of pandemic response to potentially include things like farming, poverty, and climate change, which could either cause or exacerbate outbreaks, or impair peoples’ health in other ways. Current terms being negotiated would not only broaden the scope of the WHO’s mandate but would also grant it authority to act when a pandemic “threat” is perceived, as opposed to an actual pandemic emergency.

“They are already putting in place a very broad surveillance mechanism,”

The ultimate goal of the reforms is to vest more pandemic authority within the WHO and have this authority extend beyond pandemic emergencies. Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto is currently negotiating terms of the WHO pandemic accord on behalf of the United States. While the language of the accord and IHR revisions is often opaque and bureaucratic, the reforms could have far-reaching implications for global health governance.

It is clear that the negotiations are complex and far-reaching. However, the GPMB’s call for a global pandemic simulation highlights the urgency of the situation. The success of these reforms will depend on transparency, accountability, and a coordinated approach to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

• 194 nations are working on pandemic agreements
• GPMB calls for a worldwide pandemic simulation to test new agreements
• Manifesto for Preparedness includes three “tests” for the treaty and IHR amendments
• Current negotiations on the pandemic accord and IHR amendments have gone on behind closed doors
• Reforms could have far-reaching implications for global health governance

The urgency of the situation cannot be overstated. The success of these reforms will depend on transparency, accountability, and a coordinated approach to pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.