PGPHC - Panel for a Global Public Health Convention

Global accountability to prevent pandemics

Urgent letter to the INB & WGIHR Co-Chairs and WHO Member States

May 9, 2024

The Panel together with senior leaders sent an open letter to the INB & WGIHR Co-Chairs, and WHO Member States. They provide recommendations that highlight the principles of leadership, accountability, and governance around a new agreement.

COVID-19 devastated the world.

Imagine if we could prevent future outbreaks from escalating into pandemics.

The only way to do it is for countries to work together and hold each other accountable.

The modern world is interconnected, and infectious diseases easily cross borders. Though we cannot entirely prevent outbreaks, we can slow or stop pandemics before they kill millions – if we put in place a new way to respond together, as a global community.

We were unequipped to respond to COVID-19 because there was no global governance structure with the authority to monitor, inspect and hold actors accountable, and to coordinate the world response. As a result, countries did not follow existing legally binding International Health Regulations or emerging science-based public health recommendations.

We need fresh and independent thinking to get us to work together in a new way.

The time to act is now. Heads of state and government must negotiate and sign a treaty or convention to prevent the next pandemic – before it’s too late.

How to Prevent the Next Pandemic:

We consulted with global experts across borders and sectors to determine what a new global public health security convention would need to best prevent, prepare for and respond to infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics.