The World Health Assembly to prepare a global toolkit for future pandemics
- May 24, 2024
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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The World Health Assembly to prepare a global toolkit for future pandemics
Sub: IR
Context:
- The World Health Assembly will convene from May 27 to June 1 to discuss amendments to the International Health Regulations.
Key Amendments:
- A package of amendments, based on 300 proposals made by member countries after the pandemic, will be the star of the agenda.
- These amendments to the International Health Regulations will target improving the ability of countries to respond to public health emergencies of international concern.
About The International Health Regulations (IHR):
- The International Health Regulations (IHR) was first adopted by the WHA in 1969 and last revised in 2005.
- It was aimed to maximize collective efforts to manage public health events while minimizing disruption to travel and trade.
- There are 196 State Parties to the IHR, comprising all 194 WHO Member States plus Liechtenstein and the Holy See.
- The IHR provides an overarching legal framework that defines countries’ rights and obligations in handling public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders.
- They also introduce important safeguards to protect the rights of travelers and other persons in relation to the treatment of personal data, informed consent and non-discrimination in the application of health measures under the Regulations.
- The IHR is an instrument of international law that is legally binding on 196 countries.
- The IHR focuses on building countries’ capacities to detect and respond to public health events, which could take on international dimensions.
- The draft pandemic accord focuses on a coordinated international response to pandemics, with equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics at the center.
Various Surveillance systems in IHR:
- The IHR requires that all countries have surveillance systems capable of detecting acute public health events in a timely manner.
- The goal of country implementation is to limit the spread of health risks to neighboring countries and to prevent unwarranted travel and trade restrictions.
About World Health Assembly:
- The World Health Assembly is the forum through which the World Health Organization is governed by its 194 member states.
- It is the world’s highest health policy setting body and is composed of health ministers from member states.
- The members of the WHA generally meet every year in May in Geneva at the Palace of Nations, the location of WHO Headquarters.
- The main tasks of the WHA are to decide major policy questions, as well as to approve the WHO work programme and budget and elect its Director-General (every fifth year) and annually to elect ten members to renew part of its executive board.
- Its main functions are to determine the policies of the Organization, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.