{"id":24688,"date":"2025-06-19T13:20:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-19T11:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalcitieshub.org\/?p=24688"},"modified":"2025-07-02T13:26:03","modified_gmt":"2025-07-02T11:26:03","slug":"implementation-of-the-new-pandemic-treaty-the-last-mile-will-be-critical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalcitieshub.org\/en\/implementation-of-the-new-pandemic-treaty-the-last-mile-will-be-critical\/","title":{"rendered":"Implementation of the New Pandemic Treaty: The Last Mile will be Critical"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

On 17 June, the Global Cities Hub, in partnership with UN-Habitat<\/a> and the Global Parliament of Mayors<\/a> co-organized a Geneva Urban Debate, focused on the newly adopted pandemic treaty and its implications for local and regional governments. With cities having been the epicentres of the COVID-19 pandemic, the discussion explored how urban authorities can leverage this global instrument to better prepare for future health crises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Urban Realities during Pandemics<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cities were central to the COVID-19 story as over 90% of reported cases occurred in urban settings. Their size, density, and connectivity made them particularly susceptible to the spread of the virus. At the same time, local and regional governments (LRGs) played an essential role in managing the crisis, leading efforts to respond, recover, and rebuild. Their importance will only grow when the next pandemic arrives, despite varying responsibilities across national contexts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening the event, Graham Alabaster, Head of UN-Habitat\u2019s Geneva office, underscored the importance of equitable and well-designed urban environments to prevent and contain disease. Equity is a central goal and principle of the new pandemic treaty and he emphasized that addressing vulnerabilities in low-income urban areas is essential to protect entire populations. He also emphasized the importance of collecting disaggregated local data – something only LRGs can do effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although many States were eager to reaffirm their sovereignty during the treaty negotiations and in the treaty itself, the final text still offers opportunities to strengthen the role of LRGs in pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response and work closely with them to gather local data, reinforce local infrastructure and design urban space in a way that minimizes equities and reduce the risk of pandemics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Pandemic Treaty: Origins and Aims<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Priti Patnaik, journalist and founder of the Geneva Health Files<\/a>, outlined the political context that led to the development of the treaty. Frustration with the limitations of the International Health Regulations (IHR) during COVID-19 created momentum for a new legally binding instrument. Spearheaded by the European Union and supported by countries such as Chile, the initiative gradually gained broader support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equity, especially for low- and middle-income countries, is at the core of the treaty. This principle is reflected in commitments to establish a new Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system, enable technology transfer, scale up local production of pandemic related-health products, and ensure sustainable financing. Not surprisingly, both PABS and technology transfer were among the most debated issues during negotiations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\u2019s in it for Local and Regional Governments<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Initially, the draft text included references to several points advocated for by the GCH: the need to ensure equity within States, the vulnerability of urban settings, some references to the subnational level, and the need to think about Pandemic prevention, preparedness and response at all levels. Earlier versions even referred to the need to delegate authority during pandemics to local government in order to better respond to pandemics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, as negotiations progressed, many of these references were weakened or removed. Still, the final treaty text includes important provisions that LRGs can use to assert their role:<\/p>\n\n\n\n