The two processes are complementary, controlled by imperative to make the world safer from infectious diseases and ensure equitable responses to threats to public healthsaid Ashley Bloomfield, former Director-General of Health New Zealand, who is co-chairing the task force to update the 2005 WHO International Health Regulations, which concluded its latest round of discussions on Friday.
“The efforts to update international health regulations and draft athe pandemic agreement share a number common themes, including the importance of equity in access to health, collaboration and capacity building,” he said. “It is important that there is consistency and alignment between the two processes.”
Facing covid-19 challenges
A sum of 307 changes to WHO’s international health regulations entered response to challenges from COVID 19 pandemic. As of Tuesday, WHO reported a total of 757,264,511 confirmed cases, including 6,850,594 deaths, since the start of the pandemic in 2020.
“COVID 19 showed us that it is important to have a good, strong set of international health regulations, and showed where current regulations need to be improved“, said Dr. Bloomfield.
During the week-long working group session, he said governments had focused on making their countries and the international community, better prepared for future emergencies. They also emphasized the importance of improving capacity buildingabove all in low-income countries; access to benefits arising from sharing pathogens; equitable access to medical countermeasures; and reinforced cooperation and information exchange.
Make the world safer
“The ongoing pandemic has underlined the importance of countries working together and supporting WHO in its important work to make the world safer,” he said. – The tone of the discussions and progress during this week’s meeting clearly shows that countries understand the responsibility they have to ensure the success of this process.”
Abdullah M. Assiri, Saudi Arabia’s deputy health minister and co-chair of the task force, said that WHO membership with 194 countries is “in the driver’s seat” of the process to strengthen the current regulatory framework.
“During the pandemic, the world faced the urgent need for functioning international instruments and placed an increased importance on international organizations, such as the WHO,” he said. “Updated regulations will enable the world to better detect outbreaks early and prevent them from developing into public health emergencies of international concern. This is about strengthen our collective ability to do so and to better protect everyone.”
The 2005 regulations had expired agreed approach and obligations for countries to prepare for and respond to, disease outbreaks and other acute public health risks. The working group will meet again in April to continue discussions.
© WHO
The WHO working group met to consider 307 amendments proposed by governments to update current rules.
New “pandemic agreement”
On Monday, governments will begin negotiating the drafting of one WHO tools for pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Called to as one the pandemic agreementthe “zero draft” in the agreement will be the focus of discussions during the week-long session.
Call to action drafting the agreement came after World Health Assemblys special session in December 2021, in recognition of the failure of the international community to show solidarity and justice in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Global Health Advances
The International Sanitary Regulations, issued in 1951, preceded WHO’s landmark 2005. Both follow more than a century of global health progresswhich goes back to first international sanitation conferencewhich was held in Paris in 1851, which elaborated quarantine rules to stop the spread of cholerayellow fever, and other deadly pandemics Right then.
At UN General Assembly first science session of its kindwhich was held in early February, had epidemiologists and researchers called for a global pandemic warning system. Suggestions included forging a new global digital collaboration consisting of a network of researchers connected via an open source computer science platform capable of quantify, model and ultimately solve all climate and health problems on any scale.