Live Breaking News & Updates on Noor Shakfeh|Page 1

For the Pandemic Accord to be effective, member states must urgently focus negotiations to define its scope, including its definition of “pandemic,” and ensure the definition avoids the pitfalls of past mistakes, argue Noor Shakfeh, Fifa Rahman, and Katri Bertram

Member states of the Intergovernmental Negotiation Body (INB)1 have roughly nine months left before they need to present a draft outcome to the World Health Assembly in May 2024. While their negotiations to date have understandably focused on provisions related to access and benefit-sharing, and distribution of countermeasures, the implementation of these as well as all other provisions will ultimately depend on whether an outbreak meets member states’ negotiated definition of “pandemic.”

At a joint meeting in July 2023 with the working group to amend the International Health Regulations (WGIHR),2 member states met to discuss the scope of the accord, including the definition of a “pandemic.” Though ....

United States , Fifaa Rahman , Katri Bertram , Noor Shakfeh , Nshakfeh Fifarahman Katribertram , Fifa Rahman , Mike Ryan , Pan American Health Organisation , Pandemic Fund , Health Emergencies Programme , Principal Consultant At Matahari Global Solutions , Leader In Biosecurity Initiative , Advisor For Health Poverty Action , World Bank Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility , International Health Regulations , Pandemic Accord , Intergovernmental Negotiation Body , World Health Assembly , Emergencies Programme , World Bank , Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility , Biosecurity Initiative Fellow , Resilience Measurement System , Special Advisor , Health Poverty Action , Principal Consultant ,