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Fate of ancient Athens guides WHO at gathering to plan for next pandemic -Breaking

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© Reuters. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the Director-General for the World Health Organization (WHO). He addresses the 75th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland. May 22, 2022. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

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Emma Farge and Jennifer Rigby

LONDON/GENEVA – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will remember his history when he meets almost 200 countries at this year’s U.N. Agency annual assembly.

Tedros, in his recent whitepaper laying out plans for future global health security, began by quoting Thucydides an ancient Greek historian who desired the world learn from the failures of Athens’ plague in 430 BC.

Two-and-a half centuries later, and having already killed over 15 million worldwide by COVID-19, this week’s World Health Assembly is focused on the need to avoid another pandemic.

COVID continues to rage as the delegates meet. There is greater division than ever between countries over how to tackle the greatest health crisis that has struck in 100 years. Still, efforts to immunize the entire world are inadequacies.

The future role of the UN agency in keeping the world safe from this fatal outbreak and helping it to recover is still unknown.

Who is STRENGTHENED?

Tedros’ whitepaper, which will be debated at the assembly, envisions a future where a stronger WHO is at the heart of emergency health preparedness.

WHO observers have criticized parts of his plan as power grabs. This includes a proposal for a new global emergency council to be “linked and aligned to” WHO. Instead, high-ranking experts suggest that this body should be autonomous and held at the highest level of authority.

A G20 alternative proposal for a Pandemic Fund of Up to $50 Billion was originally seen as a rival to WHO. WHO has the ability to distribute money via an emergency mechanism to respond to outbreaks.

The agency now wants to be a part of the new fund. This could possibly happen through a seat on the board.

Expect the largest outcome of the assembly to be a financing deal, which is seen to be necessary for WHO’s survival. This agreement will be approved by all members and would reduce WHO’s dependence on donors with strings attached.

WHO currently receives a majority of its funding from voluntary donations from government and private donors. This arrangement is not sustainable by the U.N. agency as independent panels of experts say. The organisation is now facing new risks, such as increased pandemic risk and other health concerns, from Ebola to breastfeeding.

It is possible that a deal which would increase mandatory fees and decrease its dependence on donations by member states will be approved, provided WHO does the necessary changes to enhance efficiency and transparency.

This is an important first step towards making the world more resilient to new threats. However, there is still much to do.

Carolyn Reynolds, the founder of Pandemic Action Network, stated that strengthening WHO was essential, but it is not enough to prepare and respond to another pandemic.

This is because, while WHO might be greater than pandemics but pandemics can also be larger than WHO.

Helen Clark is co-chairperson of the Independent Panel on Pandemic Preparedness, Response. The body established by WHO to evaluate the international response to COVID, Clark said, “It’s all hands on the wheel.”

Clark, a former prime minister of New Zealand, wants the whole world to take its lessons and learn them fast.

Thucydides’ warnings in Athens about the dangers of the plague have echoing today. COVID is threatening the global economy, and it has exposed the weaknesses in our political systems.

The panel issued a report last week warning that, despite making some improvements, the world may not be better equipped for future health threats.

The report stated that reforms were urgent and not an option. A strengthened WHO is essential, as well as better preparation across all levels.

Lawrence Gostin, a Georgetown Law professor in Washington, D.C., closely follows WHO, sees an opportunity for WHO to make a comeback after years of being understaffed.

He stated that while it will not be the global leader in health in years following World War Two it could regain its stature and authority after this pandemic.

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