Panama’s Position on Global Pandemic Treaty

This week, the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA) takes place in Geneva, Switzerland, focused on various health issues, such as global preparedness for future pandemics and the influence of climate change on human well-being.  Representing Panama is delegation by Vice Minister Ivette Berrío.

The idea of ​​this agreement is to reach a binding convention for WHO Member States (something that the 76-year-old organization has only largely achieved in anti-smoking matters), which attempts to avoid the mistakes made, and coordination failures evident during the pandemic of COVID-19.

Panama’s position with respect to the Treaty on Pandemics is to ensure equal access to supplies and medicines, so that there is equity when any other health crisis occurs worldwide.  In this sense, it advocates that developing countries have the same opportunity as the more developed ones to seek strategies that mitigate the contingency.  The Ministry of Health highlights that Panama, as a member of the World Health Organization, must take advantage of the benefits of these discussions and agreements, which benefit the entire population.