Defences against Disease X weakened by one missing ingredient: Trust
Countries are not cooperating with one another on public health while some citizens have little faith in their authorities’ guidance. This is a sign of a larger malaise.
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Trust is critical if the world is to get its act together before the arrival of the dreaded Disease X.
PHOTO: ST FILE
Teo Yik Ying
A meeting of world health authorities in May was meant to close one of the most important chapters in post-Covid global health diplomacy. Instead, member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) left Geneva empty-handed, although it gave them another year’s extension. The failure to clinch an agreement speaks to a central issue bedevilling efforts to fight the next pandemic – a lack of trust.
The shock of Covid-19 prompted WHO member states to adopt a landmark Pandemic Agreement in 2025 to avoid another disjointed global response. But a key component was left out: the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) Annex.
