In a world grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic's harsh realities, parliamentarians from around the globe have come together with a shared vision: to strengthen our defenses against future pandemics. The 147th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, which took place in Luanda, Angola, 23–27 October 2023, witnessed once more the important collaboration between WHO and IPU, paving the way for a healthier and safer world. The joint WHO-IPU workshop, Unpacking the Development of the Pandemic Accord: A Collaborative Effort by WHO and IPU, aimed to inform parliamentarians on the ongoing discussions on the pandemic accord and shed light on the journey towards a more resilient global health system.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in our global pandemic response. Gaps in preparedness and coordination at national, regional, and global levels became evident. However, it also provided a unique opportunity to rebuild a more robust international health architecture. As Martin Chungong, IPU Secretary General, aptly put it, “it is important for us to hear the voices of parliaments as these negotiations must be informed by real experiences of people, articulated by their representatives, the members of parliament”.
At a Special Session of the World Health Assembly in December 2021, WHO Member States made a landmark decision to establish the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), representing all regions of the world. Their mission: to draft and negotiate a WHO convention or international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response – the pandemic accord.
Precious Matsoso, INB Co-Chair, emphasized the need for regional representation to address the diverse regional perspectives and capacities, and defined parliamentarians as “key actors for the accord implementation, as they have a unique capacity to foster ownership and transparency while ensuring alignment with the needs of diverse communities and countries worldwide”.
This awareness-raising workshop aimed to offer a comprehensive understanding of the pandemic accord's key elements, scope, implications, and benefits. It explained the roles of different stakeholders, with parliamentarians being at the forefront. As Steven Solomon, Senior Legal Officer at WHO, noted, “the pandemic accord seeks to improve access to tools, pathogens, and response measures while building a more sustainable production capacity for healthcare products. It also aims to strengthen health systems and capacities, ensuring better readiness for future pandemics”.
However, as Steven Solomon pointed out, “the accord will not give WHO's Director-General sovereignty over pandemic issues, and will not solve all pandemic-related problems, unless there is continuous engagement, transparency, governance, sustainable financing, and political will at the global, regional, and national levels”.
Women, Child and Adolescents’ perspective is also crucial when discussing the implications of a pandemic accord. Flavia Bustreo, from the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), emphasized the impact of the pandemic on women, children, and adolescents, highlighting the "shadow pandemic" of gender-based violence and how it disrupted social and economic life, stressing the importance of global coordination rather than focusing solely on individual populations.
Ms. Emma Muteka, MP from Namibia and Member of the Board of the IPU Forum of Young Parliamentarians, eloquently summed up the workshop's goal, stating, “the Accord must aim to equalize capacity to prevent, prepare and respond to pandemics, including vaccine production and sharing of necessary cross-border health data, while respecting countries' sovereignty”.
This workshop, filled with insights and perspectives from various stakeholders, highlighted once more the importance of maintaining an open dialogue between WHO and policy makers, and served as a beacon of hope in our collective endeavor to create a healthier, safer, and more just world.