A Pandemic Treaty to Make the World Safer

The World Health Organization (WHO) chief hailed support for an international pandemic treaty to shield the world from future health crises. Twenty-five heads of government and international agencies have endorsed the treaty, which would signal high-level political action needed to protect the world from future health crises The international community should work together "towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response" to build a more robust global health architecture that will protect future generations, world leaders said in a commentary published today in several newspapers around the world. "There will always be new pathogens with pandemic potential," said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "It's not a matter of if but when."