Australian Disease Body Calls for Global Pandemic Rules Enforced by the WHO

Australian Disease Body Urges WHO to Implement Global Pandemic Regulations

October 26, 2023 TruthUSA

The AIID supported Australia’s full participation in the process of developing and reforming the global pandemic rules.

A major Australian research institute has called for the World Health Organisation (WHO) to be granted more power to enforce global pandemic rules to prevent future emerging diseases.

In a submission (pdf) to the Australian government as part of a consultation process, the Australian Institute for Infectious Disease (AIID) said the International Health Regulations (IHR) needed to be reformed to facilitate early detection and response to future pandemics and avoid the mistakes made during the COVID-19 outbreak.

The AIID explained that the current global health rules had many shortcomings hindering countries’ efforts in discovering and dealing with new widespread diseases, including a lack of capacity to ensure governments comply with their obligations under the IHR and limited global oversight and coordination.

AIID’s Recommendations

The AIID suggested governments improve the sharing of pathogen samples, genomic sequences, and data as well as access to the benefits arising from their use so that countries could develop more effective countermeasures to emerging diseases.

The Institute also advised countries to maintain regional stockpiles of vaccines and protective equipment to prepare for emergencies and produce new supplies when an early disease was reported.

Another essential recommendation of the AIID was to strengthen the WHO in power and resources to improve its collaboration with other international organisations.

However, the AIID noted that the strengthening of WHO should not require the agency to undertake responsibilities or functions that are better performed by other organisations.