Efforts to draft a pandemic treaty falter as countries disagree on how to respond to next emergency

By JAMEY KEATEN and MARIA CHENG
Associated Press

GENEVA (AP) — A global treaty to fight pandemics like COVID is going to have to wait: After more than two years of negotiations, rich and poor countries have failed to come up with a plan for how the world might respond to the next pandemic. After COVID-19 triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. On Friday, WHO leaders acknowledged countries had failed to come to a consensus on a treaty but would continue their efforts, despite missing a self-imposed deadline for later this month.