In December 2021, the World Health Assembly established an intergovernmental negotiating body (INB) to draft and negotiate an international instrument under the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
As a non-state actor in official relations with the WHO, the IAHPC has participated in INB consultations since 2022. We have consistently urged governments involved in INB negotiations to include palliative care language in any pandemic and preparedness response treaty. Although the words “palliative care” did appear in an early draft text, they are no longer in the Zero Draft of the treaty.
The IAHPC and our partner global, regional, and national organizations strongly feel that any pandemic preparedness and response treaty must explicitly include palliative care. Failure to include it will result in palliative care services being sidelined and unfunded in policy preparations and implementation.
The negotiations are now in the hands of delegations appointed by the governments of all WHO member states. Civil society organizations such as IAHPC now have a very limited, indirect, role.
We urge our members and supporters to contact their governments and negotiating delegations to respectfully request that they include palliative care in the text of the treaty.
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