Leaders of 23 Countries Back Pandemic Treaty Idea for Future Emergencies

Leaders of 23 countries and the World Health Organization on Tuesday backed drawing up an international treaty that would help deal with future health emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic by tightening rules on sharing information.

The idea of such a treaty, also aimed at ensuring universal and equitable access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for pandemics, was floated by the chairman of European Union leaders, Charles Michel, last November.