To end the pandemic, do we need stricter international health security rules?⯠Assembly hall of the World Health Organization's (WHO) in Geneva Keystone / Salvatore Di Nolfi Most countriesâ¯were unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and only sporadically implemented World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. As the virus risks becoming endemic, what are the next steps? Some world leaders and the WHO have suggested an international pandemic treaty. Experts and the WHO disagree on whether the approach is realistic. This content was published on May 18, 2021 - 17:45 May 18, 2021 - 17:45 Akiko Uehara Born in Yokohama, Japan. I live in Switzerland since 1999. I hold a masterâs degree in international relations from Geneva. I am the Head of the Japanese section of swissinfo.ch since 2016. Previously, I worked for 15 years for Asahi Shimbun at the UN in Geneva, where I closely followed multilateral and Swiss affairs. I was secretary-general of the Foreign Press Association in Switzerland and Liechtenstein from 2015 to 2016.