Leaders of 23 countries supported an idea to create an international treaty for health emergencies
23国领导人支持突发卫生事件条约
燕山大学 刘立军 供稿
TRANSCRIPT
Leaders of 23 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday supported an idea to create an international treaty for health emergencies. The treaty would strengthen rules on sharing information.
The idea of such a treaty was first suggested by President of the European Council Charles Michel at a meeting of the Group of 20 major economic powers last November. The treaty would try to ensure that every country would have an equal ability to get vaccines, medicine and needed equipment for widespread health crises.
Diplomats say WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has agreed with the idea, but official talks have not begun.
Tedros told a news conference on Tuesday that a treaty would solve the problems that many countries experienced after COVID-19 first appeared. He said the first written attempt at a resolution on negotiations could be presented to the WHO's 194 member states at their yearly meeting in May.
On Tuesday, the treaty proposal got the support of the leaders of Fiji, Portugal, Romania, Britain, Rwanda, Kenya, France, Germany, Greece, South Korea, Chile, Costa Rica, Albania and South Africa. Leaders of Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Senegal, Spain, Norway, Serbia, Indonesia, Ukraine and the WHO itself also offered their support.
"There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone," the leaders wrote in a joint statement in several large newspapers.
"We believe that nations should work together towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response," it said.
The leaders of China and the United States did not sign the statement. However, Tedros said both countries had been supportive of the idea of a treaty. He also said all countries would be represented in the talks.
The treaty would work with the WHO's International Health Regulations. They are rules that have been in force since 2005. Nations would work together to control supplies, share virus samples, research and development, the WHO's assistant director said.
I'm Susan Shand.
VOCABULARY
1. treaty n. a formal agreement between two or more countries （国家之间的）条约，协定。例如：a peace treaty 和平协定
2. vaccine n. a substance that is put into the blood and that protects the body from a disease 疫苗；菌苗。例如：There is no vaccine against HIV infection. 现在还没有防艾滋病病毒传染的疫苗。
3. proposal n. a formal suggestion or plan; the act of making a suggestion 提议。例如：a proposal to build more office accommodation 增建办公楼的建议
4. multilateral adj. in which three or more groups, nations, etc. take part 多边的；多国的。例如：multilateral negotiations 多边谈判
QUESTIONS
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
Leaders of 23 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday supported an idea to create an international treaty for (Q1) _____________________. The treaty would strengthen rules on sharing information.
The idea of such a treaty was first suggested by President of the European Council Charles Michel at a meeting of the Group of 20 major (Q2) ____________________ last November. The treaty would try to ensure that every country would have an (Q3) _________________ to get vaccines, medicine and needed equipment for widespread health crises.
Diplomats say WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has agreed with the idea, but (Q4) ________________ have not begun.
Tedros told a news conference on Tuesday that a treaty would solve the problems that many countries experienced after COVID-19 first appeared. He said the first written attempt at a resolution on negotiations could be presented to the WHO's (Q5) __________________ member states at their yearly meeting in May.
On Tuesday, the treaty (Q6) __________________ got the support of the leaders of Fiji, Portugal, Romania, Britain, Rwanda, Kenya, France, Germany, Greece, South Korea, Chile, Costa Rica, Albania and South Africa. Leaders of Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Senegal, Spain, Norway, Serbia, Indonesia, Ukraine and the WHO itself also offered their (Q7) _________________.
"There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone," the leaders wrote in a (Q8) ________________ in several large newspapers.
"We believe that nations should work together towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response," it said.
The leaders of China and the United States did not sign the statement. However, Tedros said both countries had been (Q9) ________________________ of the idea of a treaty. He also said all countries would be represented in talks.
The treaty would work with the WHO's International Health Regulations. They are rules that have been in force since 2005. Nations would work together to control supplies, share virus samples, (Q10) ________________________________, the WHO's assistant director said.
I'm Susan Shand.
KEY
Read the passage. Then listen to the news and fill in the blanks with the information (words, phrases or sentences) you hear.
Leaders of 23 countries and the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday supported an idea to create an international treaty for (Q1) health emergencies. The treaty would strengthen rules on sharing information.
The idea of such a treaty was first suggested by President of the European Council Charles Michel at a meeting of the Group of 20 major (Q2) economic powers last November. The treaty would try to ensure that every country would have an (Q3) equal ability to get vaccines, medicine and needed equipment for widespread health crises.
Diplomats say WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has agreed with the idea, but (Q4) official talks have not begun.
Tedros told a news conference on Tuesday that a treaty would solve the problems that many countries experienced after COVID-19 first appeared. He said the first written attempt at a resolution on negotiations could be presented to the WHO's (Q5) 194 member states at their yearly meeting in May.
On Tuesday, the treaty (Q6) proposal got the support of the leaders of Fiji, Portugal, Romania, Britain, Rwanda, Kenya, France, Germany, Greece, South Korea, Chile, Costa Rica, Albania and South Africa. Leaders of Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Senegal, Spain, Norway, Serbia, Indonesia, Ukraine and the WHO itself also offered their (Q7) support.
"There will be other pandemics and other major health emergencies. No single government or multilateral agency can address this threat alone," the leaders wrote in a (Q8) joint statement in several large newspapers.
"We believe that nations should work together towards a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response," it said.
The leaders of China and the United States did not sign the statement. However, Tedros said both countries had been (Q9) supportive of the idea of a treaty. He also said all countries would be represented in talks.
The treaty would work with the WHO's International Health Regulations. They are rules that have been in force since 2005. Nations would work together to control supplies, share virus samples, (Q10) research and development, the WHO's assistant director said.
I'm Susan Shand.
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