Government has been told to refrain from signing the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) proposed pandemic accord in its current form.
The request has been made by a coalition of local stakeholders, including doctors, who penned an open letter to Prime Minister Dr Rowley.
The letter, which is published in eight whole page ads in Thursday’s Guardian, was also sent to President Christine Kangaloo, Ministry of Health heads and other stakeholders and policy-makers.
In all there are nine doctors as signatories to the letter, three religious leaders, and three labour representatives. There are also 16 civil advocates including Clarence Mendoza, Edward Moodie, Gary Aboud, Robert Amar, and Umar Abdullah.
The letter has also been endorsed by 14 organisations like the National Trade Union Centre and the Concerned Parents Movement.
In a GML report, the primary author of the letter, Dr Rajiv Seereeram, said the group agrees with the intention of the agreement—a globally coordinated approach to dealing with pandemics. However, he said, in its current form, the accord could do more harm than good.
The group asked that the proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (2022) be rejected before November 2023.
“We have proposed very reasonable amendments which we would like to see forwarded by our local representatives or the Prime Minister for consideration by the WHO,” Seereeram said.
The letter also called for national discourse on the accord and asked the Prime Minister to respond within 30 days to the request for public consultations.
The group’s 15-page letter pointed out sections of the draft accord which they believe would vest additional power to the WHO’s Director-General and through amendments to the International Health Regulations. The group also said the treaty will subvert the country’s public health autonomy to respond to global outbreaks.