FIVE years after Covid-19 triggered national lockdowns, economic uncertainty and killed millions, World Health Organisation (WHO) member countries agreed today on a draft “pandemic treaty.”

The treaty will provide guidelines for how the international community might confront the next global health crisis.

After what many regard as a disastrous response to the coronavirus crisis, countries tasked the WHO in 2021 with overseeing the preparation of a pandemic treaty. Early Wednesday, negotiations concluded an agreement that is expected to be adopted at the United Nations health agency’s annual meeting in Geneva next month.