Covid has placed us in a similar bind. For the pandemic to be quelled, nobody anywhere should be at its mercy. What we need are not just avowals of concern for others, but a global pact that holds all state actors to a mutually-agreed agenda.
Last year, European Council president Charles Michel had floated the idea of an international treaty on pandemics designed to ensure universal access to vaccines and drugs during such outbreaks.
On Tuesday, 23 national leaders—including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson—joined World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus in calling for an accord on global health emergencies.