Men at some time are masters of their fates;
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings.
(Julius Caesar, Act I, Scene III, L. 140-141)
The COVID-19 pandemic, generating cases and deaths daily, has impacted all parts of the world. Australia, along with the USA, proposed an independent inquiry into the origins and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. This has generated backlash from China which placed economic sanctions on Australia. Recently, the World Health Assembly passed a resolution calling all stakeholders to respond to and find the source of the pandemic. An inquiry was included in the resolution, but it would mainly focus on WHO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the expense of the responses of individual countries, including China, as outlined in the excerpt below (emphasis mine):
…Initiate, at the earliest appropriate moment, and in consultation with Member States, a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation, including using existing mechanisms, as appropriate, to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19, including (i) the effectiveness of the mechanisms at WHO’s disposal; (ii) the functioning of the IHR and the status of implementation of the relevant recommendations of the previous IHR Review Committees; (iii) WHO’s contribution to United Nations-wide efforts; and (iv) the actions of WHO and their timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic, and make recommendations to improve global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capacity, including through strengthening, as appropriate, WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme…
Focusing mainly at WHO’s response to the pandemic overlooks the important roles that countries have played in perpetuating the COVID-19 pandemic. A lot of blame is placed on China for not reporting the seriousness of the pandemic in a timely manner, but other countries must also share the blame for not preparing for the pandemic. In this blog post, I will explain the International Health Regulations (IHRs), a legal document that enforces countries to be prepared and responsive to disease outbreaks and pandemics. I will then explain how China and other countries such as the USA have violated the principles and rules of the IHRs to cause a pandemic that could not be contained.
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