WHO Finalizes Global Pandemic Treaty

Q1. What is the primary objective of the recently finalized WHO Pandemic Treaty?

1. To establish a global health tax on pharmaceutical companies.
2. To ensure equitable access to vaccines and medicines during pandemics.
3. To create a single global health authority overriding national governments.
4. To ban international travel during public health emergencies.

Explanation: The treaty's main goal is to ensure fair and equitable distribution of pandemic-related medical resources, such as vaccines and treatments, among all nations, especially those with fewer resources.

Q2. The 'Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing' (PABS) system, a key feature of the Pandemic Treaty, aims to:

1. Restrict the sharing of pathogen data to high-income countries only.
2. Provide developing countries with financial aid for research.
3. Ensure timely access to medical countermeasures in return for sharing pathogen data.
4. Mandate intellectual property protection for all shared genetic sequences.

Explanation: The PABS system is designed to create a reciprocal arrangement where countries sharing valuable pathogen data receive prompt and equitable access to the resulting vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics developed from that data.

Q3. Which body was responsible for negotiating the WHO Pandemic Treaty?

1. The United Nations Security Council
2. The World Trade Organization (WTO)
3. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB)
4. The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Explanation: The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) was established by the World Health Assembly to conduct the formal negotiations and draft the text of the new pandemic instrument.

Q4. The Pandemic Treaty emphasizes strengthening local manufacturing capacity primarily in which region?

1. North America
2. Europe
3. The Global South
4. Australia and New Zealand

Explanation: A significant focus of the treaty is to bolster the capacity of countries in the Global South to locally produce essential medical supplies, thereby reducing dependency on external supply chains during health crises.

Q5. The finalization of the WHO Pandemic Treaty was a direct response to the shortcomings observed during which major global event?

1. The 2008 Global Financial Crisis
2. The Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (2014-2016)
3. The COVID-19 Pandemic
4. The H1N1 Influenza Pandemic (2009)

Explanation: The profound inequities and coordination challenges experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic served as a major catalyst for the urgent need to establish a new, more robust international agreement on pandemic preparedness and response.