By Emma Farge

GENEVA, (Reuters) – Negotiations for new pandemic management rules will start at the World Health Organization this Thursday. A target date for a U.N. treaty is May 2024.

A new pact was one of more than 200 suggestions made by reviewers to strengthen the defenses against emerging pathogens. This is in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed the lives of more than 6.2million people over two years.

After an independent panel criticized the WHO’s inability to respond to COVID-19, it is now being called for reform. It was described as “underpowered”, with limited power to coordinate containment and investigate outbreaks.

One initiative that may determine the future for the 74-year-old institution is a Washington-led effort by Washington to establish a global prevention fund. This will be hosted by the World Bank.

WHAT IS THE PANDEMIC TREATMENT?

International Health Regulations (2006) are binding guidelines that the WHO has established. These regulations set out the obligations of countries when public health events could be trans-border. They include notifying the WHO of any health emergencies immediately and taking trade- and travel precautions.

These regulations, which were established after the 2002/3 SARS pandemic, are considered to be functional but insufficient for an international pandemic.

The pact could include data sharing and sequences of genomes for emerging viruses, as well as rules regarding equitable distribution of vaccines.

An EU official said to Reuters that the European Union wants to ban wildlife markets and incentivize reporting new viruses or variants.

The August deadline for member states to agree on the initial version of this pact is set by Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, WHO director general. His chances of being elected for another term are high.

This would only be the second such agreement after 2003 Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. It is a legally binding treaty that aims to decrease smoking through taxation and regulations on advertising.

HOW DO COUNTRIES VIEW THE PACT?

With support from Britain and other countries, the EU was the main backer of this treaty.

While the United States intends to take part in negotiations, they have rejected any binding agreements. Brazil and India also expressed reservations.

It is difficult to reach agreement with so many countries.

WHAT WORKS IT?

The pact’s legal status is still unclear. In WHO terminology, it is called an “instrument”. There are three kinds of instruments: recommendations, regulations, and conventions. Except for explicit objections, all regulations become legally binding on members.

The relationship between the 2005 regulations, and the pandemic treaty is still not clear.

A suggestion would be to make them complementary so the existing rules could apply to local epidemics and the treaty response kick in only if the WHO declares that there is a pandemic. This does not exist at the moment.

It’s not clear whether the negotiators would include sanctions as a compliance measure.

What other reforms are in the works?

Talks on separate U.S. initiatives to reform 2005 regulations are currently taking place.

Washington proposes to increase transparency and give the WHO faster access to areas where there are outbreaks. Many diplomats believe they will be too ambitious and that opposition from China or other countries is expected.

China allowed WHO-led experts to visit the COVID-19 epicenter in Wuhan. However, the WHO claims it still holds clinical data from early cases which may provide clues as to the source of the SARS virus.

In another group, WHO members are discussing reforms of the WHO funding system to improve its sustainability and flexibility in case of pandemics.

The United States has so far resisted plans to raise annual contributions from member countries, despite being the WHO’s largest donor prior to the pandemic.