Despite improved WHO regulations, the world remains ill-prepared for the next pandemic

Wed, 10 Jul 2024 12:39:09 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://theconversation.com/despite-improved-who-regulations-the-world-remains-ill-prepared-for-the-next-pandemic-231586>

"The international community’s recent failure to conclude a global pandemic
agreement leaves large gaps in our capacity to deal with the next major
infectious disease emergency.

The risk of another pandemic like COVID – the worst in a century – is
increasing.

The World Health Organization (WHO) took an important step by adopting useful
revisions to the existing legally-binding International Health Regulations.

But while this advance is something to celebrate, it is not enough. Even if
governments approve the revised regulations, our best chance of preventing
history repeating itself lies in a pandemic agreement.
Make better decisions - find out what the experts think.

Global responses to health hazards that cross borders date back to an
international sanitary conference in 1851 which focused on measures to limit
the spread of cholera. Since then, several initiatives have aimed to improve
global health security, including the formation of the WHO itself in 1946.

The International Health Regulations of 2005 were a major step in this
evolution. They ushered in the modern era of risk assessment and created a
global surveillance system for public health emergencies of international
concern.

Nonetheless, it was soon evident the new tools were limited in dealing with the
increasingly complex and fast moving threat of zoonotic diseases (when an
animal pathogen “spills over” to infect people)."

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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