VOA慢速英语--23国领导人呼吁制定国际条约 以应对未来的流行病

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 vaccines¹, medicine and needed equipment for widespread health crises².

Diplomats³ 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 negotiations⁴ 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 joint⁵ 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 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.

Words in This Story

origins – n. (often pl.) the point or place where something begins or is created

multilateral – adj. involving more than two groups or countries

address – v. to give attention to something; to deal with something

response – v. something done that is a reaction to something else; an answer or reply

sample –n. a small amount of something that is used to give information about what it was taken from

1 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

2 crises   

n. 危机；危险期

参考例句：

• Economic crises recur periodically. 经济危机周期性地发生。
• Great crises often call forth gifted leaders. 危急存亡之际常能产生天才的领袖。

3 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

5 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。