Think Global Health | July 14, 2022
Read the PublicationOn December 1, 2021, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution establishing an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to determine the content and form of a new pandemic agreement. Consultations over the course of the first half of 2022 have given rise to questions from member states as to the content and form of a new “instrument”—or agreement. During the INB’s first public hearings, there were different views expressed in terms of the overall future governance mechanism of a new international instrument. Some participants advocated for the instrument to be nonbinding and advisory in nature and for individual countries to be able to implement their own policies in order to respect national sovereignty. Other speakers stressed that nationalism should be prevented, and that steps should be taken to monitor and enforce national compliance according to the international instrument.