Global treaty needed to protect states from pandemics, say world leaders

Joint letter signed by Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, Angela Merkel and others warns nobody is safe until everyone is safe'

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The world needs a global treaty for pandemics to protect states in the wake of Covid-19, akin to the settlement forged after the second world war, Boris Johnson and other world leaders have urged.

In a joint article published in newspapers across the world, leaders including the UK prime minister, the French president, Emmanuel Macron, and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, warn that a future global pandemic is an inevitability and that Covid has served as a stark and painful reminder that nobody is safe until everyone is safe".