Letter in full: World leaders including Boris Johnson call for international pandemic treaty

Countries must work together in a highly co-ordinated fashion to be ready for future pandemics, world leaders including Prime Minister Boris Johnson have said.

Covid-19 has been a “stark and painful reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe” and a new treaty for pandemic preparedness and response will be needed to tackle future health crises.

The issue has been raised by Mr Johnson and 23 other world leaders including French and German counterparts Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel in a letter printed in the Daily Telegraph and other papers across the world.

But there are some notable names missing from the list, including US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Coronavirus has led to nearly 2.8 million deaths worldwide, according to figures from the Johns Hopkins University, while 127 million people have been infected by the virus first detected in China in late 2019.

Here is the letter in full

“The Covid-19 pandemic is the biggest challenge to the global community since the 1940s.

“At that time, following the devastation of two world wars, political leaders came together to forge the multilateral system.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson during a media briefing on coronavirus.

“The aims were clear: to bring countries together, to dispel the temptations of isolationism and nationalism, and to address the challenges that could only be achieved together in the spirit of solidarity and co-operation, namely peace, prosperity, health and security.

“Today, we hold the same hope, that as we fight to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic together, we can build a more robust international health architecture that will protect future generations.

“There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies.

“No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone. The question is not if, but when.

“Together, we must be better prepared to predict, prevent, detect, assess and effectively respond to pandemics in a highly co-ordinated fashion.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has been a stark and painful reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe.

“We are, therefore, committed to ensuring universal and equitable access to safe, efficacious and affordable vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for this and future pandemics.

“Immunisation is a global public good and we will need to be able to develop, manufacture and deploy vaccines as quickly as possible.

“This is why the Access to Covid-19 Tools Accelerator (ACT-A) was set up in order to promote equal access to tests, treatments and vaccines and support health systems across the globe.

“ACT-A has delivered on many aspects but equitable access is not achieved yet. There is more we can do to promote global access.

“To that end, we believe that nations should work together towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response.

“Such a renewed collective commitment would be a milestone in stepping up pandemic preparedness at the highest political level.

“It would be rooted in the constitution of the World Health Organisation, drawing in other relevant organisations key to this endeavour, in support of the principle of health for all.

“Existing global health instruments, especially the International Health Regulations, would underpin such a treaty, ensuring a firm and tested foundation on which we can build and improve.

“The main goal of this treaty would be to foster an all-of-government and all-of-society approach, strengthening national, regional and global capacities and resilience to future pandemics.

“This includes greatly enhancing international co-operation to improve, for example, alert systems, data-sharing, research, and local, regional and global production and distribution of medical and public health counter measures, such as vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and personal protective equipment.

“It would also include recognition of a ‘One Health’ approach that connects the health of humans, animals and our planet.

“And such a treaty should lead to more mutual accountability and shared responsibility, transparency and co-operation within the international system and with its rules and norms.

“To achieve this, we will work with heads of state and governments globally and all stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector.

“We are convinced that it is our responsibility, as leaders of nations and international institutions, to ensure that the world learns the lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“At a time when Covid-19 has exploited our weaknesses and divisions, we must seize this opportunity and come together as a global community for peaceful co-operation that extends beyond this crisis.

“Building our capacities and systems to do this will take time and require a sustained political, financial and societal commitment over many years.

“Our solidarity in ensuring that the world is better prepared will be our legacy that protects our children and grandchildren and minimises the impact of future pandemics on our economies and our societies.

“Pandemic preparedness needs global leadership for a global health system fit for this millennium.

“To make this commitment a reality, we must be guided by solidarity, fairness, transparency, inclusiveness and equity.”

The signatories are:

J. V. Bainimarama, prime minister of Fiji, Antonio Luis Santos da Costa, prime minister of Portugal; Klaus Iohannis, president of Romania; Boris Johnson UK Prime Minister, Paul Kagame, president of Rwanda; Uhuru Kenyatta, president of Kenya; Emmanuel Macron, president of France; Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany; Charles Michel, president of the European Council; Kyriakos Mitsotakis, prime minister of Greece; Moon Jae-in, president of the Republic of Korea; Sebastian Pinera, president of Chile; Carlos Alvarado Quesada, president of Costa Rica; Edi Rama, prime minister of Albania; Cyril Ramaphosa, president of South Africa; Keith Rowley, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago; Mark Rutte, prime minister of the Netherlands; Kais Saied, president of Tunisia; Macky Sall, president of Senegal; Pedro Sanchez, prime minister of Spain; Erna Solberg, prime minister of Norway; Aleksandar Vucic, president of Serbia; Joko Widodo, president of Indonesia; Volodymyr Zelensky, president of Ukraine, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organisation.

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