WHO defends ‘pandemic treaty’, omits crucial detail

The World Health Organization (WHO) last month published a video defending the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response Accord set to be signed by member countries next year.

Negotiations began earlier this year on the accord, widely referred to as a “pandemic treaty.” It is unclear if a draft has yet been finalized, but many fear it requires member states to cede sovereignty to the WHO in the event of a pandemic.

To dispel these fears, WHO Chief Legal Counsel Steve Solomon responded to these concerns in a short video, saying “it is the countries that will decide” the items put forth in the accord.

“So the treaty aims to do three things: Better preparedness for pandemics; better prevention of pandemics from starting in the first place; and when they hit, a better, fairer public health response to those pandemics,” said Solomon. “And at the same time making sure that countries which were in the driver's seat and are in the driver's seat for writing it, remain in the driver's seat for all of those things.”

The lawyer acknowledged that the treaty aims to increase and streamline “public health surveillance” which involves collecting and analyzing health data.

But “the treaty isn’t going to give WHO power to dictate vaccine mandates,” Solomon continued. “The treaty won't give WHO as an organization, as a staff, the power to dictate anything.”

The veracity of Solomon’s claim may be debated, particularly since a final draft has not been publicized. But Solomon failed to address another concern which some pundits say is the true purpose of the treaty.

In the original draft negotiated by member states earlier this year, countries must agree to bind themselves to the WHO’s definition of public health, called One Health.

The One Health approach to healthcare dictates that “climate change” is the driving factor behind human health. For example, warmer climates can fuel tick infestations which can bring with them deadly diseases like Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF). Changing weather patterns can cause avian flu to spread.

Therefore, the WHO’s One Health agenda states that because pandemic diseases are zoonotic and spread from animals to humans, human health must be looked at in the context of animals and the environment or what is called the “human-animal-environment interface.” 

One Health, which has been highly endorsed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), would prioritize “climate change” over human health in some regard. No sacrifice would be too great to save the climate if it is the chief determinant of the health of all living things. A zoonotic outbreak, therefore, could open the door for climate mandates like lockdowns and forced vaccinations to stop the spread.

Indeed, the WHO recently paired with the Rockefeller Foundation to search for “climate pandemics.” It also partnered in June with the European Commission to develop international vaccine passports as drugmakers call for “climate vaccinations.”

All this is supported by One Health, which is a cornerstone of the WHO’s pandemic treaty.

“The Parties, recognizing that the majority of emerging infectious diseases and pandemics are caused by zoonotic pathogens, commit . . . to promote and implement a One Health approach that is coherent, integrated, coordinated and collaborative among all relevant actors, with the application of existing instruments and initiatives,” reads the accord draft.

Governments would be required by the treaty to “address the drivers of the emergence and re-emergence of disease at the human-animal-environment interface, including but not limited to climate change, land use change, wildlife trade, desertification and antimicrobial resistance.”

The agreement reiterates elsewhere that countries must “commit to strengthen synergies with other existing relevant instruments that address the drivers of pandemics, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation and increased risks at the human-animal-environment interface due to human activities.”

Governments are required to coordinate One Health–based activities with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), which together form the One Health Quadripartite.

One Health has already started making its way into US legislation. In December, Congress quietly passed the Advancing Emergency Preparedness Through One Health Act (HR 2061/S 681) which commissions the establishment of a One Health program. The heads of federal agencies such as the CDC, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and others are ordered to submit a proposal for a One Health Framework to Congress within one year.

The Act says the first goal of the One Health Program is to prevent zoonotic diseases, which can only be done by focusing more on the environment and agriculture. The bill’s authors worry that zoonotic disease outbreaks may cause egg shortages which can in turn affect vaccine production.

“Public health preparedness depends on agriculture in a variety of ways,” reads the bill. “For example, a wide range of vaccines, including those for influenza, yellow fever, rabies, and measles-mumps-rubella (MMR), are primarily cultivated in poultry eggs. Egg shortages resulting from zoonotic disease outbreaks could impose serious risks to vaccine manufacturing efforts."

It is therefore no surprise that US lead negotiator for the WHO’s Pandemic Accord Ambassador Pamela Hamamoto has pledged the Biden administration’s commitment to the agreement.

“The United States is committed to the Pandemic Accord, to form a major component of the global health architecture for generations to come,” said Hamamoto in a statement.