Photo taken on Feb. 24, 2021 shows staff members unloading COVID-19 vaccines at the military airport of Boufarik, 40 km southeast of the capital Algiers, Algeria. A donation of Chinese Sinopharm coronavirus vaccines arrived in Algeria on Wednesday to help the North African nation combat the pandemic.Photo:Xinhua

Leaders of 23 countries and the World Health Organization on Tuesday backed an idea to create an international treaty that would help the world deal with future health emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic now ravaging the globe.

The idea of such a treaty, which would ensure universal and equitable access to vaccines, medicines and diagnostics for pandemics, was floated by the chairperson of EU leaders Charles Michel at a G20 summit in November.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus endorsed the idea at its governing body in January, but formal negotiations have not begun, diplomats say. 

On Tuesday, the treaty proposal got the formal backing of the leaders of Fiji, Portugal, Romania, Britain, Rwanda, ­Kenya, France, Germany, Greece, South Korea, Chile, Costa Rica, Albania, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Senegal, Spain, Norway, Serbia, Indonesia, Ukraine and the WHO.

"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 opinion article in major newspapers.

"We believe that nations should work together toward a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response," they said.

The main goal of such a treaty would be to strengthen the world's resilience to ­future pandemics through better alert systems, data sharing, research and the production and ­distribution of vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and personal protective equipment, they said.

"We must be guided by solidarity, fairness, transparency, inclusiveness and equity," they wrote. 

The treaty would also state that the health of humans, animals and the planet are all connected and should lead to shared responsibility, ­transparency and cooperation globally.

"We are convinced that it is our responsibility, as leaders of nations and international institutions, to ensure that the world learns the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic," the leaders wrote.

The push to bolster ­common efforts comes as the planet struggles to combine forces to overcome the ­COVID-19 ­pandemic that has killed almost 2.8 million people worldwide. 

The spread of the virus has seen blame traded between ­capitals and accusations that rich nations have hoarded vaccines as economies around the globe have been battered.