Developing countries are under pressure to accept the proposal of a legally binding pandemic treaty on a ‘One Health’ approach as pressure mounts to conclude negotiations ahead of the 77th World Health Assembly commencing on May 27, health experts said following the negotiations.
One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimise the health of people, animals, and ecosystems. It recognises that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants, and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent, the World Health Organization (WHO) states.
“The proposed One Health approach not only reinforces inequity but also undermines the existing international obligations. By imposing legal obligations to share data on pathogens or genetic resources, the proposal may undermine State sovereignty over genetic resources and bypass the obligations to share the benefit emerging out of research and development (R&D) on genetic resources and their data. Another concern is the use of such data to impose import restrictions citing sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures. SPS is one of the frequently used trade measures by the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) members,’‘ K.M. Gopakumar, legal advisor and senior researcher with the Third World Network (TWN), said.
