"The claim that the accord will cede power to WHO is quite simply false. It's fake news," WHO chief says
GENEVA: The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Thursday warned against "fake news" after Twitter boss Elon Musk tweeted that countries should not "cede authority to WHO" amid negotiations over a new pandemic treaty.
"The claim that the accord will cede power to WHO is quite simply false. It's fake news. Countries will decide what the accord says," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press conference.
Tedros did not mention Musk by name, but earlier Thursday he
had also tweeted a response at the Twitter chief, insisting "countries
aren't ceding sovereignty to WHO."
"The Pandemic Accord won't
change that. The accord will help countries better guard against pandemics.
It will help us to better protect people regardless of whether they live in
countries that are rich or poor," he tweeted.
The exchange came
as negotiations proceed towards a global accord aimed at helping prevent and
swiftly respond to future pandemics, with a final text expected to go to a
vote among WHO member states in May 2024.
The deal could address
the need for swift information exchange between countries when faced with a
global health emergency like the COVID-19 pandemic, and could aim to prevent
the rampant inequity seen in the access to vaccines during that
crisis.
The agreement should also call for countries to boost national,
regional and global preparedness and detection systems to spot pandemic
risks.
Even before the discussions began though, the WHO was
battling a barrage of disinformation and conspiracy theories surrounding the
negotiations and future agreement, including allegations that the
organisation is scheming to take over health policies in sovereign
nations.
With the agreement under discussion, "no country will
cede any sovereignty to WHO," Tedros insisted to journalists Thursday.
"Countries will decide what the accord says, and countries
alone. And countries will implement the accord in line with their own
national laws.
"If any politician, businessperson, or anyone at
all is confused about what the pandemic accord is or isn't, we would be more
than happy to discuss it and explain it."
