New global structure needed for infectious disease control

Source(s): Hill, the

By Harvey Rubin and Nicholas Saidel

[...]

World leaders are now advancing the idea of a treaty to better prepare for the next pandemic. However, a treaty between states would not cure the myriad inefficiencies revealed by the response to COVID-19. The structural change needed requires  a “whole of society” approach on a global scale, i.e. the integration of nonstate actors, such as NGOs and civil society as well as a funding shift that includes not only states but the private sector as well. The World Health Organization (WHO), the mandate of which extends well beyond infectious diseases, should be enhanced by a governance regime solely focused on the issue of infectious diseases — one that can force relevant entities to act in the best interests of the international community and to fully realize the concept of health as a basic human right.

[...]

An infectious disease-centric global governance model must be both inclusive and collaborative. It requires a deliberative voting body and an adjudicative forum, both comprised of states parties and all relevant stakeholders whose infrastructure, expertise, and access to capital markets, can be leveraged to maximize our collective ability to detect, report, respond to, and ultimately, prevent infectious disease outbreaks. This architecture would serve to distribute power among the multitude of actors with a stake in this space and refocus funding strategies away from donations toward public-private partnerships.

[...]

The currently inefficient international regime for infectious disease control requires a new overarching structure that will harmonize, integrate and coordinate the existing relevant legal structures that deal with infectious disease issues — including the WHO, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, the WTO, G7/G20, the IMF, the World Bank, and others. By incorporating existing networks, the governance structure would synergize noble and constructive efforts that are already underway. Until a central authority is empowered to truly govern global infectious disease control, we will continue to see fractured and inconsistent responses to outbreaks like COVID-19.

[...]

Explore further

Share this

Please note: Content is displayed as last posted by a PreventionWeb community member or editor. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of UNDRR, PreventionWeb, or its sponsors. See our terms of use

Is this page useful?

Yes No Report an issue on this page

Thank you. If you have 2 minutes, we would benefit from additional feedback (link opens in a new window).