UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson
More than 20 world leaders has joined in calling for a new global settlement to help the world prepare for future pandemics.
In an article for newspapers around the world, leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson, President Macron of France and German chancellor Angela Merkel say Covid has posed the biggest challenge since World War Two.
Another pandemic or health crisis is a matter of “not if, but when”, they say. And the pandemic has shown that “nobody is safe until everyone is safe”.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph and publications such as Le Monde in France and El Pais in Spain, the 24 leaders argue that a treaty similar to that reached in the wake of World War Two is needed to build cross-border cooperation.
The signatories, who include the head of the World Health Organization, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, say: “At that time, following the devastation of two world wars, political leaders came together to forge the multilateral system.
A new treaty would help to establish better systems for alerting people about potential pandemics, they say, while also improving the sharing of data and distribution of vaccines and personal protective equipment.
“There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone. The question is not if, but when.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has been a stark and painful reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe.”
The letter adds: “At a time when Covid-19 has exploited our weaknesses and divisions, we must seize this opportunity and come together as a global community for peaceful co-operation that extends beyond this crisis.”
The joint article comes in the wake of disagreement between the UK and EU over vaccines, after the bloc introduced tougher export controls on jabs produced there.
The UK and the World Health Organization warned against blockades, while the EU blamed pharmaceutical companies – primarily AstraZeneca – for not delivering promised doses.
AstraZeneca has denied that it is failing to honor its contract.
At a Downing Street briefing on Monday, Johnson announced that tens of millions of doses of the Novavax vaccine will now be produced and packaged in north-east England.
The prime minister said a deal had been agreed with GlaxoSmithKline to bottle 60 million doses at its facility in Barnard Castle.
The original plan was for the “fill and finish” process – by which vaccines are packaged up in vials – to be done in Europe.
