Pandemic Mitigation Project

A non-government organization (NGO) that is registered in France has proposed a Pandemic Mitigation Project that would be a legally binding, stand alone agreement.

The Pandemic Mitigation Project would REQUIRE countries to provide immediate notification of potential epidemic/pandemic events, grant immediate access to pre-vetted specialists “to assist in identification, isolation and mitigation of the pandemic threat,” and provide enforcement provisions that would encourage compliance.

Members of the investigatory teams (pre-vetted specialists) would be subject to a non-disclosure agreement and report their findings only to the WHO and signatory country representatives.

1. What is the [Pandemic Mitigation] Project?

The [Pandemic Mitigation] Project is a private sector, non-governmental effort that advocates for a treaty to mitigate pandemics through obligatory notification and grant of access. The Project envisions a treaty that would encourage compliance through enforcement measures that could be swift and comprehensive.

8. What is the difference between the [Pandemic Mitigation] Project and proposals to reform or enhance the World Health Organization (WHO)?

Many countries have proposed improving WHO’s funding and ability to prevent, remediate and mitigate pandemics. WHO relies on voluntary cooperation and discretionary participation of countries for its operations.

The Project would supplement these improvements to WHO by requiring countries to provide that organization and other signatory states timely information regarding an outbreak.

This information would come from two sources: (1) immediate notification of the outbreak to WHO and signatory states (2) immediate grant of access to a pre-cleared team of professionals

WHO would select professionals with particular expertise from a roster that all signatory states would have reviewed and approved well in advance of an outbreak.

10. What is the proposed enforcement provision?

If a signatory state failed to comply with these requirements, signatory states could agree to have the option to take enforcement action either separately or jointly. This action could take the form of trade restrictions, such as tariff or non-tariff barriers, trade sanctions, travel r

Pandemic Mitigation Project

A non-government organization (NGO) that is registered in France has proposed a Pandemic Mitigation Project that would be a legally binding, stand alone agreement.

The Pandemic Mitigation Project would REQUIRE countries to provide immediate notification of potential epidemic/pandemic events, grant immediate access to pre-vetted specialists “to assist in identification, isolation and mitigation of the pandemic threat,” and provide enforcement provisions that would encourage compliance.

Members of the investigatory teams (pre-vetted specialists) would be subject to a non-disclosure agreement and report their findings only to the WHO and signatory country representatives.

1. What is the [Pandemic Mitigation] Project?

The [Pandemic Mitigation] Project is a private sector, non-governmental effort that advocates for a treaty to mitigate pandemics through obligatory notification and grant of access. The Project envisions a treaty that would encourage compliance through enforcement measures that could be swift and comprehensive.

8. What is the difference between the [Pandemic Mitigation] Project and proposals to reform or enhance the World Health Organization (WHO)?

Many countries have proposed improving WHO’s funding and ability to prevent, remediate and mitigate pandemics. WHO relies on voluntary cooperation and discretionary participation of countries for its operations.

The Project would supplement these improvements to WHO by requiring countries to provide that organization and other signatory states timely information regarding an outbreak.

This information would come from two sources: (1) immediate notification of the outbreak to WHO and signatory states (2) immediate grant of access to a pre-cleared team of professionals

WHO would select professionals with particular expertise from a roster that all signatory states would have reviewed and approved well in advance of an outbreak.

10. What is the proposed enforcement provision?

If a signatory state failed to comply with these requirements, signatory states could agree to have the option to take enforcement action either separately or jointly. This action could take the form of trade restrictions, such as tariff or non-tariff barriers, trade sanctions, travel restrictions, export controls, economic sanctions, or other measures.

15. How would the treaty be funded?

Expenses would be those required for sending the team of experts to a signatory country that notified WHO and others of a potential outbreak, such as the cost of experts, airfare, PPE, insurance, equipment, security and related logistics when deploying a team. These costs would be modest when compared to national and international public health expenditures.

Funding would be decided by the signatory countries. For example, signatory countries could decide that each country will pay into a reserve account at WHO according to an established sliding scale based on a metric selected by the signatory countries.

estrictions, export controls, economic sanctions, or other measures.

15. How would the treaty be funded?

Expenses would be those required for sending the team of experts to a signatory country that notified WHO and others of a potential outbreak, such as the cost of experts, airfare, PPE, insurance, equipment, security and related logistics when deploying a team. These costs would be modest when compared to national and international public health expenditures.

Funding would be decided by the signatory countries. For example, signatory countries could decide that each country will pay into a reserve account at WHO according to an established sliding scale based on a metric selected by the signatory countries.