The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated on Thursday that it would set up a committee to consider changing rules to declare an international health emergency. It happens following criticism of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told in a virtual press conference on Thursday that the COVID-19 pandemic had become an ‘acid test’ for countries as well as for the International Health Regulations (IHR).
Now, the WHO will set up a review committee into global regulation to see if any changes need to be made. The WHO before this has faced allegations, especially from Washington regarding dealing with the outbreak.
The committee established by the WHO will be composed of independent experts.
Tedros hopes the committee will submit a progress report to the World Health Council in November, and a complete report in May.
“WHO is committed to ending the pandemic, and to working with all countries to learn from it, and to ensure that together we build the healthier, safer, fairer world that we want,” he said.
It is said that the committee is separate from the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response (IPPR) established to assess the global response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
IPPR is led by former New Zealand prime minister Helen Clark and former Liberian president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Source: The Jakarta Post
