Even After COVID, Unable to Fix the Stable... WHO Fails to Establish 'Rapid Infectious Disease Response' Norms

World Health Organization (WHO) [Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the international community, which have agreed to establish international norms to prepare for the recurrence of pandemics similar to COVID-19, are reportedly showing differences of opinion over detailed regulatory negotiations.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO, stated on the 22nd (local time) at the WHO Executive Board meeting, "There is concern that member states may fail to fulfill their commitments regarding the revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR)."

Director-General Tedros emphasized, "Time is very short," adding, "There are issues that remain to be resolved, and failure to reach an agreement would mean missing the opportunity for future generations to forgive us."

The 194 WHO member states have agreed to revise the IHR, which outlines the obligations and measures that countries must follow to respond swiftly to potential future pandemics. Since last year, member states have formed an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to discuss draft contents. The deadline for preparing the draft is May of this year.

The draft is expected to include provisions granting the WHO stronger authority and responsibility to elicit prompt cooperation from countries when infectious disease risks arise, as well as strengthening preventive testing and detection activities in preparation for outbreak concerns. Measures to support the expedited approval process for emergency medicines and procedures or methods to secure substantial funding necessary for infectious disease response are also likely to be discussed during the IHR revision negotiations.

However, it is reported that many issues are divisive depending on countries' income levels and health capacities. Intellectual property rights issues and distribution principles related to vaccines and treatments are considered difficult points for countries to easily compromise on. Since the revision aims to prevent fragmentation of the international community and to grant strong binding force to the IHR, there is a possibility of sharp confrontations even over a single short phrase within the norms.

Director-General Tedros urged, "I call on all member states to work with the goal of reaching a strong agreement," adding, "Courage and compromise are necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.