(Geneva) Faced with a possible new planetary health crisis, the member countries of the WHO, meeting this week in Geneva, are trying to find the best ways to prevent it.
Posted at 12:49 p.m.
The outbreak of monkeypox, which appeared in the past few weeks in some twenty countries where cases were extremely rare, is clearly on the minds of all participants, even if the extent of the threat remains difficult to assess.
Michael Ryan, head of emergency situations at the WHO drove the point home. He believes that this eruption “is directly linked to our inability, or unwillingness, to manage these risks earlier in the generation cycle of an epidemic”.
More generally, infectious diseases are amplified by weak public health services and poorly managed urban areas, he pointed out.
The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare deficiencies in the global health system, and the organization’s member countries agreed last year that many changes were needed to better prepare the world to meet future threats.
The 194 member states gathered for the World Health Assembly (WHA) want to close the surveillance and preparedness gaps that allowed COVID-19 to kill millions and bring the economy to its knees world.
But even though the pandemic is far from being under control and much of the world is still poorly vaccinated, many countries have lifted health restrictions and thrown away their surveillance tools.
Michael Ryan is concerned because these detection holes could allow the virus to mutate unnoticed.
“We need data. We are becoming blind to the evolution of this pandemic and we are becoming blind to the emergence of other “potential pandemics,” Dr. Ryan said.
Not ready
WHO boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned there is no time to waste.
“Strengthening preparedness, response and resilience to health emergencies is a top priority, as the pandemic has shown that the world is unprepared and still isn’t,” he told reporters. the AMS.
Changes are being considered for the International Health Regulations (IHR) – a set of legally binding texts governing the response to acute risks threatening public health. The Dr Tedros welcomed proposals to shorten the timeframe for amending and adapting the IHR.
Negotiations are also underway to establish a new international instrument – binding but still unclear – aimed at streamlining the preparation and response to a global health disaster.
A final result is not expected before 2024.
“A legally binding instrument is a promise to future generations to ensure the world can respond to the next pandemic or health emergency,” the WHO boss said.
The IHR, adopted in 2005, defines the rights and obligations of member countries in the face of health emergencies likely to spread abroad. It also defines the Public Health Emergency of International Concern (USPPI), WHO’s highest level of alert.
Inaudible alert
The statement by the Dr Tedros of a USPPI on January 30, 2020 in the face of COVID-19 did not have the expected shock effect, neither among the States and even less the general public.
It was not until the head of the WHO called the situation a pandemic, on March 11, that many countries seemed to take the measure of the danger.
The United States, European Union, Britain, Japan, Australia and South Korea introduced a draft resolution on strengthening WHO’s preparedness and response to health emergencies.
These include speeding things up and reducing reaction times.
The Assembly should decide on the creation of a Standing Committee on Emergencies stemming from the WHO Executive Board and activating within 24 hours in the event of a health emergency of international concern.
The United States wants to clarify roles and responsibilities, increase transparency, encourage the sharing of best practices and communicate in real time, said Loyce Pace, assistant secretary for international affairs at the US Department of Health on Wednesday.
“If we don’t do anything, then why are we here? “, she launched.