We need a pandemic agreement for all, not for the privileged few
Saturday, June 01, 2024 | 260 Views |
![Dr Penninah Lutung](https://cdn4.premiumread.com/?url=https://www.mmegi.bw/mmegi/uploads/images/2024/06/01/110236.jpg&w=800&q=72&f=jpg&t=1)
Dr Penninah Lutung
Yet, as the ink dries on a proposed World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, a disquieting sense of déjà vu sets in. This agreement, intended to be a bulwark against future public health emergencies, threatens to become a monument to missed opportunities.
Negotiations, riddled with self-interest and a lack of transparency, are prioritizing the profits of pharmaceutical companies over the collective health security of the world, a chilling echo of the vaccine nationalism witnessed during COVID-19. The current draft of the agreement is a pale imitation of what's needed.
In the 2014 General Election, women who stood for parliamentary elections were a mere 17 out of a total of 192 aspirants, and sadly the number dropped to 11 out of 210 parliamentary aspirants in the 2019 General Election. Hopefully, registration of the Women in Politics Caucus will give women the necessary support to join politics. While things were slowly improving, women for a long time were at the receiving end as compared to their male...