TY - JOUR T1 - Pandemic treaty needs to start with rethinking the paradigm of global health security JF - BMJ Global Health JO - BMJ Global Health DO - 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-006392 VL - 6 IS - 6 SP - e006392 AU - Sakiko Fukuda-Parr AU - Paulo Buss AU - Alicia Ely Yamin Y1 - 2021/06/01 UR - http://gh.bmj.com/content/6/6/e006392.abstract N2 - The Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness1 released on 11 May adds to the mounting calls for a new Pandemic Treaty that would address gaps in the global governance of threats to global health security. The emerging debate has quickly turned to focus on questions of structure and forms—a United Nations treaty or a framework convention under the auspices of the WHO, and verification and enforcement mechanisms—as well as on issues of process regarding who will have voice and how the negotiations will proceed.2 3 But we must not lose sight of its purpose and key objectives, and what we mean by ‘global health security’. Indeed, the treaty discussions provide an opportunity and an imperative to rethink the paradigm of global health security that has shaped the current international response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The prevailing paradigm is antithetical to the core purpose of global pandemic preparedness and response for five reasons.First, global health security needs to focus on the security of people, not national borders. The concept of ‘global health security’ emerged with the increasing transnational spread of disease in the late 20th century in the context of neoliberal economic globalisation, the rise in biosecurity threats, and increased migrations due to climate change, instability and armed conflicts.4 5 It led to a reframing of infectious diseases as a national security threat, bringing the language and thinking of the security sector, concerned with defending national borders, not human health. As Senators … ER -