Leaders of 23 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday supported an idea to create an international treaty for health emergencies. The treaty would strengthen rules on sharing information. The idea of such a treaty was first suggested by President of the European Council Charles Michel at a meeting of the Group of 20 major economic powers last November. The treaty would try to ensure that every country would have an equal ability to get vaccines, medicine and needed equipment for widespread health crises. Diplomats say WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has agreed with the idea, but official talks have not begun. Tedros told a news conference on Tuesday that a treaty would solve the problems that many countries experienced after COVID-19 first appeared. He said the first written attempt at a resolution on negotiations could be presented to the WHO’s 194 member states at their yearly meeting in May.
