The exact form of this pact, whether all its elements will be equally binding, and whether there will be special considerations for the poorest countries, will be negotiated. In July, the INB decided to wrap up the agreement in May 2024. While other global health threats in the past decade – H1N1, Sars, Mers, Ebola, Zika – were limited in their spread, the Covid pandemic tested the world. Inequity has marked the response to the pandemic, particularly of vaccines. This has had serious negative impact on countries with limited capacities and resources. The India-South Africa proposal for TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver for therapeutics, diagnostics and vaccines under WTO moved in October 2020 has not been adopted, despite the proposal being watered down.
Any agreement must provide for greater equity in response. This includes norms for dealing with IPR-related issues for diagnostics, treatment and vaccines. Prevention and precaution are equally critical. There has to be better global monitoring and tracking of diseases, early, safe and transparent sharing of samples and genetic sequencing data, and information-sharing. It must put in place linkages with other international pacts such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and UN Framework Convention on Climate Change given the feedback impacts. Covid has demonstrated that no one wins if some get left behind.