Global SOS: Urgent Call to Revamp Pandemic Negotiations

AHF Virtual Press Conference: Wednesday, May 29 @ 9:00 a.m., London (GMT+1)

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) will host a Zoom Press Conference WEDNESDAY, May 29 at 9:00 a.m. London time GMT+1 (4:00 a.m. US EDT) to comment on the stalled Pandemic Agreement negotiations taking place this week at the World Health Assembly (WHA).

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Using the international distress signal “SOS” (which conventionally stands for Save Our Souls) and imagery depicting a skull with crossbones which represents a deadly road hazard ahead, this global advocacy initiative urgently underscores the critically flawed state of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Pandemic Agreement as negotiations near conclusion at the end of May. (Graphic: Business Wire)

“WHA Member States’ inability to reach consensus is actually a positive development. It is an admission that cheating the developing world and backing drug companies is not the right approach,” said AHF Africa Bureau Chief Dr. Penninah Iutung. “We urge world leaders to not settle for a ‘status quo’ and extend the negotiations long enough to ensure we have a Pandemic Agreement that enshrines equity as a fundamental tenet of global public health. We need an Agreement that protects all nations from future global health emergencies. If there’s ever been a time for a worldwide ‘SOS’ call for action – it is now.”

At the virtual press conference, public health experts from Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the US will urge world leaders to use the delay to negotiate and deliver a just and equitable agreement that meets the needs of developing and lower-income countries – not solely rich nations and Big Pharma. The virtual press conference is a part of AHF’s global advocacy campaign called “SOS: Save Our Society”.

The global SOS: Save Our Society advocacy campaign aims to ensure global health equity and access to essential health commodities, such as vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics, during pandemics and international health emergencies. Spearheaded by AHF, the campaign uses the international distress signal "SOS" to highlight the critically flawed state of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Pandemic Agreement negotiations. Advocates seek to address the glaring inequities between developed and developing countries that have historically plagued global health responses, particularly highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to over 1.9 million individuals in 46 countries worldwide in the U.S., Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region, and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth, follow us @aidshealthcare and subscribe to our AHF podcast “AHFter Hours.”

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240528268531/en/