United Nations, Sep 27 (SocialNews.XYZ) The United States and the European Union have rejected a United Nations declaration intended to strengthen global cooperation against future pandemics. However, countries like India and Germany raised concerns but stopped short of opposing the document, media reports said.
The declaration was considered on Friday during the second UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response in New York. The New York Times reported that Italy also explicitly rejected the text.
The declaration is not legally binding. It would not dictate how governments must respond to a health emergency.
India and Germany voiced reservations about parts of the declaration but did not reject it, according to the report. The specific objections raised by India were not detailed. The document is expected to be sent to the General Assembly for further consideration.
The United States said the text still contained unacceptable language despite revisions made during negotiations. Erica Schwartz, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said it included “divisive ideologies that lack definitional consensus”.
“The United States is not in a position to support this text in full,” Schwartz said, according to The New York Times.
The Trump administration had sought changes during negotiations. Earlier drafts contained references to equity, solidarity, sexual and reproductive health services, gender equality, vaccine access and international financing. Washington sought the removal of some of that language, the newspaper reported.
The European Union raised a different set of objections. Its concerns centred largely on intellectual property protections, technology transfers and the proposed financial commitments for pandemic preparedness.
“Technology transfer must be voluntary and on mutually agreed terms,” the EU said in its official statement. It also said references to the World Trade Organisation’s intellectual property agreement and the Doha Declaration must fully reflect the original texts.
The EU nevertheless acknowledged that the declaration contained useful provisions. These covered national preparedness plans, disease surveillance, early detection, vaccination, health workers and the One Health approach linking human, animal and environmental health.
The bloc said the document fell short of its expectations and contained elements that represented “explicit red lines”. It also objected to outdated estimates of global financing gaps and the absence of a worldwide mechanism to track pandemic preparedness spending.
The declaration called for stronger laboratories, early-warning systems and emergency coordination. It sought better access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostics. It also encouraged geographically diverse manufacturing so that essential products could become available within the first 100 days of a pandemic threat.
World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that more action and investment were needed. “The COVID-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated the fault lines of global health security, and taught the world many painful lessons,” he said.
Source: IANS
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