Preparations for tackling the next pandemic are missing their "biggest piece of the puzzle" owing to delays in agreeing to a new treaty on sharing vaccines and medicine, the head of the World Health Organisation said on Monday.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said "crucial issues" remained unresolved months after 194 countries were supposed to agree on a pandemic treaty. He spoke in Berlin as a new risk report was presented, warning there was "every likelihood" of the world being "caught napping" by a disease outbreak, as it was with Covid-19.
Outbreaks of illnesses such as Middle East respiratory syndrome, H5N1 bird flu and the Marburg virus "remind us that the next pandemic is not a question of if, but when", Dr Tedros said in remarks to the World Health Summit.
Negotiators will resume talks on the pandemic treaty next month after missing a May deadline. The target date for the agreement and been revised to 2025. Divisions opened over how far rich countries should be required to share medicine and technology with the Global South, after some rich nations were accused of hoarding Covid-19 vaccine doses.
One treaty proposal that has caused contention would give the WHO access to up to 20 per cent of the vaccine stock, while countries would also commit to a “more equitable” sharing of medicine. The suggestion raised concerns about countries ceding sovereignty to the WHO.
"The biggest remaining piece of the puzzle is the WHO pandemic agreement. Although member states have made progress, some of the most crucial issues have not yet been resolved, but I am confident they will be," Dr Tedros said.
The WHO has said it does not want to dictate national policies and dismissed the suggestion it could order lockdowns or vaccination campaigns as conspiracy theories. The report, by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, said mistrust could hinder any response to a pandemic in the future.
Questions of social trust "have not yet received the sustained policy and scientific attention they deserve", it said. "Lack of trust can drive both the emergence of novel viruses and the amplification of outbreaks, by undermining compliance with control measures and incentivising secrecy rather than transparency."
Countries did agree in May to allow the WHO to declare a "pandemic emergency" as a new highest alert level, but its provisions are not binding. There have also been initiatives on disease monitoring and the development of mRNA vaccines.
"Despite these improvements, made in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, there is every likelihood that the next pandemic will again catch the world napping, without the readiness plans primed for implementation from day one," the report said.
Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, a former president of Croatia and chairwoman of the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, told the Berlin summit that the world was "once again entering the phase of neglect in the typical panic-and-neglect cycle".
Although the Covid-19 pandemic was often described as a once-in-a-century health crisis, that "does not mean we can let our guard down for the next 100 years", Ms Grabar-Kitarovic said. "The Covid-19 pandemic has left a deep, lasting impact on societies, much like post-traumatic stress disorder," she added. "The prolonged exposure to uncertainty, loss and trauma has affected mental health and continues to influence behaviours and responses long after the immediate crisis has passed.
"People, governments and organisations are eager to move on from the pandemic. However, this rush to return to normalcy risks leading to complacency – exactly at a time when vigilance is needed most."
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal
Rating: 2/5
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Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
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6.30pm: Handicap (Turf) | US$175,000 | 2,410 metres
7.05pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (Dirt) | $100,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: Handicap (T) | $145,000 | 1,000m
8.15pm: Dubawi Stakes Group 3 (D) | $200,000 | 1,200m
8.50pm: Singspiel Stakes Group 3 (T) | $200,000 | 1,800m
9.25pm: Handicap (T) | $175,000 | 1,400m
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Recent winners
2002 Giselle Khoury (Colombia)
2004 Nathalie Nasralla (France)
2005 Catherine Abboud (Oceania)
2007 Grace Bijjani (Mexico)
2008 Carina El-Keddissi (Brazil)
2009 Sara Mansour (Brazil)
2010 Daniella Rahme (Australia)
2011 Maria Farah (Canada)
2012 Cynthia Moukarzel (Kuwait)
2013 Layla Yarak (Australia)
2014 Lia Saad (UAE)
2015 Cynthia Farah (Australia)
2016 Yosmely Massaad (Venezuela)
2017 Dima Safi (Ivory Coast)
2018 Rachel Younan (Australia)
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Gulf Under 19s
Pools
A – Dubai College, Deira International School, Al Ain Amblers, Warriors
B – Dubai English Speaking College, Repton Royals, Jumeirah College, Gems World Academy
C – British School Al Khubairat, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Yasmina Academy
D – Dubai Exiles, Jumeirah English Speaking School, English College, Bahrain Colts
Recent winners
2018 – Dubai College
2017 – British School Al Khubairat
2016 – Dubai English Speaking School
2015 – Al Ain Amblers
2014 – Dubai College
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
