ICN applauds completion of negotiations on global pandemic treaty and expresses hope it will offer tangible safeguards for nurses and populations

The International Council of Nurses (ICN) has welcomed the news that World Health Organization (WHO) member states have finalized a draft of the Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response Accord, which will act as an important framework for better managing future pandemics.

Speaking following the announcement of the draft treaty, ICN Chief Executive Officer Howard Catton said:

“I admire the tenacity and determination of the member states’ representatives in negotiating this agreement and congratulate them on finally hammering out an accord after several years of talks. This Accord is an essential step to ensuring that when the next pandemic arrives, we have well-prepared health workforces, health systems, and protocols for research, data-sharing, and treatment, so that we are ready to meet the challenges. It is now crucial that this treaty is ratified and put into practice without delay, and ICN urges all WHO member states to take the final steps to adopt this landmark agreement at next month’s World Health Assembly for the good and health of all.

‘This Accord is absolutely essential for nurses and health care workers, many of whom are sadly still bearing the scars of the COVID-19 pandemic, which took an enormous physical, psychological, and emotional toll on health workforces. At least 115,000 nurses and health care personnel, and tragically we believe many more, made the ultimate sacrifice, paying with their lives during COVID-19 because the world was not sufficiently prepared.

'The failure to provide sufficient personal protective equipment (PPE) for health workers and the lack of vaccine equity across countries strongly contributed to the high rates of illness and death we saw among nurses and other health care colleagues, and this Accord is critical to make sure that we do not repeat the mistakes of the past which led to such tragic consequences.

‘ICN has been involved in shaping the treaty and we welcome its drafting as an important step forward. However, ICN’s new report and survey of National Nurses’ Associations released earlier this week show us that the world’s nurses are still chronically undervalued, under supported, and facing unacceptable and unsafe working conditions, which is exacerbating grave workforce shortages. Nurses and the rest of health workforce are the fundamental pillar of pandemic preparedness. We call on the world’s leaders both to adopt the pandemic Accord and to prioritize investing in nurses and health professionals as frontline defenders against future health threats and the backbone of resilient, secure health systems.”