The World Health Organization (WHO) passed updated International Health Regulations (IHR), although it failed to agree on a final draft of the “Pandemic Agreement.”
In announcing the IHR developments, the WHO’s Director General, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the “historic” decisions “demonstrate a common desire by Member States to protect their own people, and the world’s, from the shared risk of public health emergencies and future pandemics.”
The IHR amendments will “bolster countries’ ability to detect and respond to future outbreaks and pandemics by strengthening their own national capacities, and coordination between fellow States, on disease surveillance, information sharing and response,” he continued. “This is built on commitment to equity, an understanding that health threats do not recognize national borders, and that preparedness is a collective endeavor.”
While the IHR amendments include a “commitment to solidarity and equity,” the “definition of a pandemic emergency,” and other matters, what the amendments leave out is notable.
Health activist Dr. Meryl Nass, founder of the Door to Freedom, wrote on Substack that “major bullets” were dodged in the IHR.
According to Nass, several measures, including “medical mandates,” the “ability to restrict drugs,” the “ability to order countries to pass laws demanded by WHO,” and the “ability to call emergencies other than health, like climate,” were all eliminated from the amendments.
Nass described the current structure of the IHR as a “huge win,” as many of the elements threatening health freedom were not included in the amendments.
The WHO also acknowledged the ongoing discussions for the Pandemic Agreement, saying it has made “concrete commitments to completing negotiations on a global pandemic agreement within a year, at the latest.”
The failure of the Pandemic Agreement comes as many governmental leaders opposed its measures.
Leaders in Japan, Slovakia, the U.K., Australia, and the U.S. have voiced their opposition to the Pandemic Agreement.
In the United States, Republican governors and senators wrote letters opposing the agreement, saying it would eliminate “sovereignty” and increase the WHO’s authority.