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Indian Express
21-05-2025
- Health
- Indian Express
Member states of WHO adopt global pandemic treaty: What does it entail?
Following more than three years of arduous negotiations, member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday (May 20) adopted a legally binding treaty designed to tackle future pandemics better. The pandemic treaty, which has been adopted without the United States, is the only the second legally binding accord in the WHO's 75-year history, the first being the 2003 tobacco control treaty. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was 'a victory for public health, science and multilateral action'. Here is a look at what the treaty comprises, and if it is strong enough. The negotiations for a global pandemic treaty began in December 2021, at a time when the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 was spreading across the world and producing a massive new surge of COVID-19. By then, countries that were manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines had hoarded millions of doses, leaving those with no vaccine plants often with no access to the shots. A 2022 study published by the journal Nature revealed that more than one million lives could have been saved if COVID-19 vaccines had been shared more equitably with lower-income countries — the virus had claimed more than seven million lives across the world. A 2021 report published by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response said, 'The combination of poor strategic choices, unwillingness to tackle inequalities, and an uncoordinated system created a toxic cocktail which allowed the pandemic to turn into a catastrophic human crisis.' In a bid to prevent loss of human life, and disruption to households and societies at large – as it happened due to the COVID-19 pandemic — during future pandemics, WHO member states got together and began to iron out a treaty. It took nearly three-and-a-half years and 13 rounds of meetings to reach the deal. One of the key elements of the agreement is a 'pathogen access and benefit sharing' system, which gives pharmaceutical companies access to scientific data such as pathogen samples and genomic sequences in return for more equitable sharing of drugs, vaccines and diagnostics during a pandemic, according to a report in Nature. The treaty says participating manufacturers will have to allocate 10% of their production of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics to the WHO. Another 10% will then be supplied at 'affordable prices'. Also, member states should 'promote and otherwise facilitate or incentivise' the exchange of technology and know-how to help manufacturers in developing nations make their own drugs and vaccines, the agreement says. Countries also need to develop national policies for putting conditions on research into drugs and vaccines that they fund — given either to universities or companies — to guarantee 'timely and equitable access' to resulting drugs or diagnostics during pandemics. Michelle Childs, policy advocacy director at the non-profit organisation Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative in Geneva, told Nature, 'Concretely, this means that when the next pandemic hits and a life-saving medicine developed thanks to taxpayer funding is unaffordable or unavailable, a government will be able to intervene for the benefit of its citizens and people in need around the world.' Although the treaty has been hailed as groundbreaking and historic, several experts have said that it has a limited scope. For instance, the agreement does not give the WHO powers over individual states. Clause 24, paragraph three states, 'Nothing in the WHO Pandemic Agreement shall be interpreted as providing the WHO Secretariat, including the WHO Director-General, any authority to direct, order, alter, or otherwise prescribe the national and/or domestic laws, as appropriate, or policies of any Party.' The treaty also says that the WHO does not have the power to mandate or otherwise impose any requirements such as 'ban or accept travellers, impose vaccination mandates or therapeutic or diagnostic measures, or implement lockdown'. This means that in a situation like the fierce competition for COVID-19 vaccines, the WHO would have no way to ensure countries adhere to the terms to which they had agreed. As a result, pharmaceutical companies may hesitate to commit resources to developing medical solutions for emerging pathogens. Dr David Reddy, Director General of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations, told The Telegraph, 'Intellectual property protection and legal certainty are essential for the innovative-based pharmaceutical industry to invest in high-risk research and development and enable voluntary partnerships that we will need in the next pandemic. We hope that in subsequent negotiations Member States maintain the conditions for the private sector to continue innovating against pathogens of pandemic potential.' Also, currently, there is no clarity on how the pathogen access and benefit sharing system will work. Notably, the treaty has been agreed upon and adopted without the US. The country withdrew from negotiations after President Donald Trump came back to the White House in January, and announced his plans of withdrawing the US from the WHO. Given the dominance of the US in the drug, vaccine, and diagnostics manufacturing industries, its absence will weaken the agreement, according to experts. Lawrence Gostin, a specialist in health law and policy at Georgetown University in Washington DC, told Nature, 'There is no sugar coating it. The absence of the US leaves a gaping hole.'
Newsweek
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Judges Raise Alarm Over Unsolicited Pizza Deliveries
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Federal judges are sounding the alarm over unsolicited deliveries of pizzas to their homes, something which they view as a tactic of intimidation against them. Some of the judiciary in question are overseeing cases that involve the White House administration. Newsweek has reached out to the office to one of the judges involved, Michelle Childs, via email for comment. Why It Matters Since his return to the White House, Trump has issued 147 executive orders, according to the Federal Register. Said orders are part of the implementation of a conservative agenda on issues including immigration, the economy and transgender rights. Many of these orders face legal challenges and opposition from members of the judiciary, with some issuing orders to block policies from taking effect. Clashes with the president have ensued, and these judges are increasingly facing scrutiny from conservatives. Demonstrators protest in front of the federal courthouse where Milwaukee County Circuit on April 25, 2025 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Demonstrators protest in front of the federal courthouse where Milwaukee County Circuit on April 25, 2025 in Milwaukee, To Know Unsolicited delivery of pizza or other goods to a home address can be a harassment or an intimidation tactic; the purpose of which is to make it clear that the individual sending the item knows where you, and often your family live. U.S. Circuit Judge Michelle Childs, who serves in Washington D.C. spoke to The Washington Post and told the outlet she had seven pizzas delivered this year, starting in February when she was working on a case involving Trump. She described the incident as "unsettling." U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, whose son Daniel Anderl was fatally shot by an attorney who was posing as a FedEx delivery driver, told the Post that she has heard from judges in multiple states who have been sent pizzas under the name of her son. She told the outlet, "It went from judges getting pizzas, to then judges' children getting pizzas, to then judges getting pizzas or their children getting pizzas that they didn't order in my murdered son's name." "To have his name weaponized as a vehicle of fear and intimidation, that takes quite a toll," Salas said. Senator Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, recently called on federal officials to investigate these anonymous deliveries. In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel sent on Tuesday, May 6, he wrote that "these deliveries are threats intended to show that those seeking to intimidate the targeted judge know the judge's address or their family members' addresses," and said that people responsibly should be "held accountable to the full extent of the law." The U.S. Marshall's office shared the following statement with Newsweek via email about the unsolicited pizza deliveries, "The United States Marshal Service is looking into all the unsolicited pizza deliveries to federal judges and taking appropriate steps to address the matter." What People Are Saying U.S. Circuit Judge J. Michelle Childs told The Washington Post "It's unsettling because I'd like to go to work every day, even with the hardest case, just feeling like there's no sense of intimidation…it's really an unnecessary and an unfortunate threat to our security when we're trying to be judicial officers in a very neutral position with respect to our cases." Senator Dick Durbin, in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel "These incidents threaten not only judges and their families, but also judicial independence and the rule of law." What's Next Whether such deliveries continue and how a legal or governmental response to the senders might look remains to be seen.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
MAGA Is Bombarding Judges With Pizzas in ‘Intimidation' Plot
The nation's justices are facing a bizarre new scourge of food delivery pranks they say are designed to intimidate them into not challenging President Donald Trump's policies in court. Federal judges told the Washington Post that pizza orders, possibly numbering in the hundreds, have been sent to the homes of jurists in at least seven states since Trump assumed office for the second time. The stunts appear to eerily draw upon the 2016 Pizzagate conspiracy theory, an extremist MAGA claiming the existence of a Satanic pedophilia ring in the Democratic Party. Michelle Childs, a Washington Circuit Judge, told WaPo that she'd received no less than seven anonymous deliveries to her home since the beginning of February, with one arriving not long after she contributed to a ruling against the White House over firings at a government watchdog. 'It's unsettling because I'd like to go to work every day, even with the hardest case, just feeling like there's no sense of intimidation,' Childs said, adding, 'You need a strong judiciary for the system to work. This is infringing on democracy generally.' Some of the orders have turned up under the name of New Jersey District Judge Esther Salas' son, Daniel Anderl—who was shot dead at their family home back in 2020 by a disgruntled attorney disguised as a delivery driver. 'It went from judges getting pizzas, to then judges' children getting pizzas, to then judges getting pizzas that they didn't order in my murdered son's name,' Salas said, further describing the pranks as an act of 'psychological warfare.' With orders in her son's name turning up at the homes of jurists in D.C., Rhode Island, New York, California, Tennessee, South Carolina, Maryland and Oregon, Salas believes the pranksters are using her son's death as a warning. 'We know the first is, 'I know where you live.' Second is, 'We know where your children live.' And the third now is, 'Do you want to end up like Judge Salas? Do you want to end up like Daniel?'' she said. Victims of these pranks have reported their experiences to the Marshals Service, which has apparently now begun compiling testimonies and making efforts to track the deliveries. Although the service reportedly declined to discuss the matter with WaPo in any detail, the Marshals Service for the Southern District of New York is understood to have sent out a cautionary memo to jurists in the area earlier in March. It confirmed that the anonymous deliveries did indeed appear to coincide with victims' involvement in legal proceedings against the federal government.
Express Tribune
12-04-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Moment of reckoning for pandemic agreement talks at WHO
Negotiations toward a global agreement on tackling future pandemics came down to the wire Friday, with observers voicing hope that a consensus could be found to seal a landmark deal. The outcome of the years-long talks taking place at the World Health Organization headquarters remained unclear, but optimism appeared to be building as the scheduled cutoff approached. "There is a high chance that a consensus will be reached in the coming hours," Michelle Childs, head of policy advocacy at the Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiative (DNDi), an NGO, told AFP. Five years after Covid-19 killed millions of people -- and with new health threats lurking, from H5N1 bird flu to measles, mpox and Ebola -- pressure is rising on world leaders to secure an agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. "Having a framework that brings nations together and plans for the next pandemic will save thousands if not millions of lives," said WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan. But President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the United States from the WHO and his large-scale dismantling of US health institutes is a new threat to the global health risk surveillance system, experts say. Adding to the sense of urgency are drastic US cuts to foreign aid, which could exacerbate health emergencies worldwide. "It's now or never," said Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute. In December 2021, WHO member states resolved to seek a deal to prevent and prepare for future pandemics, to avoid mistakes made during Covid. Major disputes have slowed negotiations, including on how to share data on dangerous pathogens, and whether the transfer of the technology and know-how to produce vaccines, tests and treatments should be mandatory or voluntary. After 13 rounds of discussions, countries have been meeting at the WHO headquarters in Geneva for final negotiations this week, with a Friday night deadline to iron out remaining problems. The aim is to have a text ready for final approval during the WHO's annual assembly next month.
