WHO accuses China of withholding COVID data – GISAID

Subject :International Relations

Section: International Organization

Concept :

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has criticised China for withholding data related to samples taken at a market in Wuhan in 2020 that could have provided vital information about the Covid-19 pandemic’s origins.
It further called on Beijing to be transparent and to share results of investigations it conducts.
The global health agency was made aware of data published on the GISAID database in late January, and taken down again recently.

Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID)

The GISAID platform was launched on the occasion of the Sixty-first World Health Assembly in May 2008.
GISAID is a global science initiative and primary source for genomic data of influenza viruses and and the novel coronavirus responsible for COVID-19.
Headquarters: Munich, Germany
In 2010 the Federal Republic of Germany became the official host of the GISAID platform and its database (named EpiFlu) providing sustainability of the platform and stability through its public-private-partnership with the GISAID Initiative to this day.
In 2013 the European Commission recognized GISAID as a research organization and partner in the PREDEMICS consortium, a project on the Preparedness, Prediction and the Prevention of Emerging Zoonotic Viruses with Pandemic Potential using multidisciplinary approaches.
Key role:
The Initiative ensures that open access to data in GISAID is provided free-of-charge to all individuals that agreed to identify themselves and agreed to uphold the GISAID sharing mechanism governed through its Database Access Agreement.