Will a global preparedness treaty help or hinder pandemic preparedness?

### Summary box\n\nAs the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear that countries were not as prepared as they needed to be and did not consistently respond as mandated by the international health regulations (IHR).1 2 To address these shortcomings, there is now a global push for a new health treaty on preparedness and response that would supplement and strengthen the IHR.3 4 Although this effort has the potential to improve preparedness if structured effectively, discussions must address potential pitfalls and be designed carefully to parallel rather than replace the necessary efforts to strengthen preparedness now. Otherwise, focus on a treaty could do more harm than good.\n\nThe concept of a new treaty is attractive—WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called it a ‘very good …