Below are extracts from an article in Health Policy Watch, and a comment from me. Read in full: https://healthpolicy-watch.news/who-head-us-rejection-of-international-r...
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The United States’ decision last Friday to reject amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) – aimed at improving the global response to disease outbreaks – is based on “inaccuracies”, according to the Director General of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“We regret the US decision to reject the amendments adopted by consensus by the World Health Assembly in 2024 – including by the US, as the US played an active role in developing and negotiating those amendments together with other countries,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Member states “have the right to decide whether or not to adopt and, subsequently, implement amendments to the IHR”, added Tedros.
US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed in a statement that the amendments “significantly expand” the WHO’s “authority over international public health responses” and will “have undue influence on our domestic health responses”...
Tedros noted that the 2024 amendments “were proposed, negotiated and adopted by member states, based on the learnings from the COVID-19 pandemic” and “are not about empowering WHO, but about improving cooperation among member states in the next pandemic.
In addition, said Tedros, the “amendments are clear about member states’ sovereignty” and that the WHO “has never had the power to mandate lockdowns, travel restrictions or other such measures”, but “member states have the power to do so if they see the need”...
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COMMENT (NPW): The false claim that the IHR amendments are somehow designed to empower WHO is 'based on inaccuracies' and is disengenuous. Such false claims undermine global efforts to build stronger health systems and block the collaboration and cooperation needed to prevent death and suffering due to future disease outbreaks. Policymakers should be held accountable for politically-motivated actions that compromise global health.
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org