Leaders of 23 countries back pandemic treaty idea to deal with future health emergencies

Leaders of 23 countries and the World Health Organization on Tuesday backed drawing up an international treaty that would help deal with future health emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic by tightening rules on sharing information. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has endorsed the proposal, but formal negotiations have not begun

The treaty proposal got the formal backing of the leaders of Fiji, Portugal, Romania, Britain, Rwanda, Kenya, France, Germany, Greece, Korea, Chile, Costa Rica, Albania, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Senegal, Spain, Norway, Serbia, Indonesia, Ukraine and the WHO itself.