The World Health Organization announced that “the countries meeting in Geneva to negotiate a new international agreement to combat the epidemic have decided by consensus that this agreement will have legal force.”

“Like all international instruments or any new agreement, if approved by member states, it is developed and discussed by the same governments, which then take all measures that respect their sovereignty,” the statement said.

World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the decision, stressing “the importance of having a legally binding text that will become part of the collective heritage for future generations.”

For his part, co-chair of the body, Perseus Matsuso, considered that “the decision is an important first step in the decisive work that we are doing together, but the matter still requires a redoubled effort.”

In December, in the face of the devastating effects of the Covid pandemic on the people and economies of countries, the 194 member states of the World Health Organization began the process of developing and negotiating a new international agreement “Government Negotiating Body” to better avoid and counter epidemics.

Its next meeting will be in December and it will report to the 2023 World Health Assembly, the annual meeting of WHO’s Member States. The authorities hope to conclude an agreement by May 2024.

Until then, countries will have to face many challenges, such as the commitments that countries are willing to make, including the fair distribution of vaccines, knowledge sharing, funding, and epidemic surveillance and investigation structures.