Roundtable discussion preventing the next pandemic

What Substantive Elements Must Be Included in a Pandemic Instrument?

Roundtable Discussion: July 12th2022 at 2 PM (CET)

1.7.2022

In the process of developing a legal instrument to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) will meet in the week of July 18th to discuss the working draft of the instrument. During these early stages, Member States are keen to determine the focus and specific measures that need to be taken in order to effectively achieve the purpose of the instrument. To support in answering those questions, we are proud to host a round table discussion where experts from different fields will debate the essential elements necessary to truly prevent, prepare and respond to future outbreaks in order to make sure they do not become epidemics and pandemics.  

The purpose of this roundtable is to provide member states with an opportunity to listen to expert views on necessary measures, address the most essential challenges that member states have identified and are seeking answers to and enjoy a friendly discussion on how to develop an international instrument that enables health for all.

We are proud to bring together experts and member states in a roundtable discussion on July 12th 2022 between 2 PM and 3.30 PM (CET).

Hotel D'Angleterre (Room Parquet) Quai du Mont-Blanc 17, 1201 Genève, Switzerland

The list of experts 

includes (please find their names and functions herewith):

Ghazi Kayali, PhD, MPH, is part of a global network of scientists dedicated to researching novel viruses transmitted between animals and humans.

He earned his doctorate degree in epidemiology from the University of Iowa College of Public Health in 2008. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Human Link, a Lebanese-based non-governmental organization with the mission to design and conduct scientific research and projects in the fields of bio-medicine, public health, environment, economy, and human development. Human Link is contracted by the US National Institutes of Health to conduct influenza and coronavirus research in the Middle East. The NGO collaborates with the World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on the Ecology of Animal Influenza Viruses based at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee. Kayali is also a regional WHO consultant on One Health, Pandemic Preparedness, and International Health Regulations. Kayali’s work was recently highlighted in the Netflix docuseries “Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak”.

Ann Linder is Wildlife and Live Animal Markets Research Fellow at Harvard Law School, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Her research focuses on articulating points and modes of zoonotic transmission across animal supply chains, as well as understanding how regulation impacts spillover risk. Prior to this, she worked as a wildlife policy analyst for the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. She received her JD from Stanford Law School and holds a Masters of Science in Animals and Public Policy from Tufts University. Much of her work focuses on the intersection of animal law and criminal law, including wildlife trafficking. Linder spent time working with the Animal Protection Unit for the City of Austin, Texas after serving as a Legislative Policy Fellow for the Harvard Animal Law & Policy Program in 2018. Her work has been published by Harvard Law School, Stanford Law School, and Lewis and Clark Law School, as well as the New York Bar Association.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Thomas C. Mettenleiter is co-chair of the One Health High Level Expert Panel (OHHLEP) and President of the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Germany.

He studied biology and earned his doctorate on molecular genetics at the Eberhard-Karls-University in Tübingen. From 1994 to 2019 he chaired the Institute of Molecular Virology and Cell Biology on Insel Riems, and has been President of the FLI since 1996. He is a member of several scientific academies including the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, an extraordinary professorship from the University of Greifswald and an honorary professorship from the University of Rostock. Thomas C. Mettenleiter is member of several international committees and working groups, e. g. the OIE Ad Hoc Group on SARS-CoV-2 at the human-animal interface and the Ad Hoc Group on Safe Trade concerning SARS-CoV-2. He has been a two-term member of the Scientific Commission of the OIE. Furthermore, he is a recipient of the Robert von Ostertag Medal of the German Federal Chamber of Veterinarians. His main field of research is virus infections of farm animals. Besides studies on the basic processes of virus-host interaction he has a focus on the development of novel vaccines using molecular technology. Furthermore, he is active in the Editorial and Review boards of several Pubmed listed scientific journals.

Dinesh Wadiwel is Associate Professor  in human rights and socio-legal studies in the Discipline  of Sociology and Criminology, The University of Sydney.

He has a background in social and political theory, and has had over 15 years of experience working within civil society organisations including in anti-poverty and disability rights roles. Wadiwel is the author of the 2015 monograph The War against Animals (Brill), a structural analysis of human animal relationships, primarily within food systems. He co-edited the 2015 Sydney University Press collection Animals in the Anthropocene: Critical Perspectives on Non-human Futures. He is currently completing a book manuscript for Edinburgh University Press on the political economy of animal agriculture. Wadiwel is also currently undertaking research for the Australian Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability. 

Prof. Dr. Jakob Zinsstag is a veterinarian with a PhD in tropical animal health.

He spent eight years in West Africa at the International Trypanotolerance Centre in The Gambia and four years as the director of the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques in Côte d’Ivoire. Since 1998 he heads a research group on human and animal health at the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute. Since 2011 his is deputy head of department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Swiss TPH. He focuses on the control of zoonoses in developing countries and the provision of health care to mobile pastoralists using a One Health approach. He is past president of the International Association for Ecology and Health and former president of the scientific board of the Transdisciplinary network of the Swiss Academies. He is editor-in-chief of CABI One Health resources https://www.cabi.org/products-and-services/one-health-resources-cabi/

Nina Jamal from FOUR PAWS International is the pandemics and animal welfare expert and the International Head of Campaigns on Farm Animals & Nutrition.

She has a Master of Science in Environmental Sciences with specialization in Environmental Policy Planning from the American University of Beirut. Before joining FOUR PAWS, Nina worked on UN climate policy and EU level climate campaigns as well as an environmental consultant in the private sector and the UN.

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