scholarly journals Une nouvelle branche du droit international : Le droit international de la santé

2005 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 611-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Bélanger
Keyword(s):  
International Development ◽  
International Health ◽  
Technical Aspect ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Social Law ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Droit International ◽  
Health Organization

International health law is a soft law which is now reaching full maturity. It has gradually taken root since the middle of the 19th century, and it represents a synthesis of several disciplines (international work law, international social law, international humanitarian law, international medical law, international environment law, ...) International health law must be linked to international economic law and particularly to international development law. Moreover, it is mostly a Third-world law, especially since the World Health Organization (W.H.O.) caters first of all to the needs and demands of the developing nations. Thus it offers both an ideological and technical aspect which is very present in the concepts of New International Health Order and of Primarian Health Cares. W.H.O. must be considered as the main organization in the field of international public health, though, an international sanitary division has been established with both world organizations (mainly the United Nations System organizations), trans-regional, regional or sub-regional organizations, all with sanitary competence, as well as many non-governmental organizations with a sanitary purpose. The standardization process (general standards and ordinary standards) of international health law is nevertheless very advanced, and make international health law a half proclamatory and half executory law.

scholarly journals How Loud and Clear Rung the Alarm Bell: The Communication Efforts of WHO on the Beginning of COVID-19 Outbreak

2021 ◽  
pp. 002073142110249
Author(s):  
Huriye Toker
Keyword(s):  
Risk Communication ◽  
International Development ◽  
International Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Releases ◽  
The Media ◽  
Credible Information ◽  
Health Organization

As seen clearly from the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, health is an important foreign policy and diplomatic issue connected with security, economic well-being, and international development. According to risk communication researchers, effective, transparent, and timely information sharing is the most important tool after vaccines for responding to pandemics. This study aims to start a scholarly discussion on the risk communication efforts of the World Health Organization (WHO) during the COVID-19 outbreak. We analyzed WHO’s communication efforts during the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the leading international health organization, WHO was responsible for providing rapid, up-to-date, and credible information for the public and the media. The selected research items were 42 news releases and statements provided by WHO between December 31, 2019, and March 30, 2020. These were subjected to qualitative and quantitative content analyses using the NVivo 12 qualitative analysis software program for coding. The data were coded under 6 variables (date of publication, topics, frequency, wording of the COVID-19 outbreak, sourcing, and themes of the releases). While 54.7% of WHO's communications were devoted to the COVID-19 outbreak, more than half were not issued until March. That is, instead of early risk communication and clear warnings about the outbreak, WHO acted overcautiously, preferring messages related to solidarity and cooperation during the most devastating pandemic of the 21st century.

Health

2019 ◽  
pp. 338-354
Author(s):  
Allyn Taylor
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
International Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Contemporary Evolution ◽  
Public International Law ◽  
Intergovernmental Organization ◽  
Health Organization

The evolution of United Nations treaties in the domain of public health over the last two decades is one of the most significant developments in public international law. Although public health is one of the earliest fields of international legal cooperation and one of the first domains in which an intergovernmental organization was created, the scope of international legal cooperation in public health was, until recently, highly limited. This chapter provides an overview of the contribution of United Nations treaties in the evolving field of international health law. It examines the historical origins and the factors contributing to its contemporary evolution. In addition, the chapter briefly reviews the contribution of UN organizations, especially the World Health Organization, to the codification efforts in this realm.

An Exploration of Conceptual and Temporal Fallacies in International Health Law and Promotion of Global Public Health Preparedness

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 588-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhrubajyoti Bhattacharya
Keyword(s):  
Avian Influenza ◽  
International Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Global Public Health ◽  
H5n1 Avian Influenza Virus ◽  
H5n1 Avian Influenza ◽  
Baxter Healthcare ◽  
The Government ◽  
Health Organization

H5N1 avian influenza has reportedly claimed the lives of 186 persons worldwide, 77 of whom resided in Indonesia. On February 7, 2007, the government of Indonesia announced that it would withhold strains of H5N1 avian influenza virus from the World Health Organization (WHO). On the same day, Indonesia signed a memorandum of agreement with Baxter Healthcare, a United States-based company, to purchase samples and presumably ensure access to subsequent vaccines at a discount.

International Health Regulations and Transmissible Diseases

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-102
Author(s):  
Anika Klafki
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Global Health ◽  
International Health ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
International Health Regulations ◽  
The World ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Health Regulations

The world is increasingly vulnerable to infectious diseases. Although the fundamental reform of the International Health Regulations (IHR) in 2005 was heralded as the beginning of a new era of international health law, the Ebola outbreak 2014 shattered all hopes that the world would now be adequately equipped for epidemic outbreaks of transmissible diseases. The Ebola crisis is perceived as an epic failure on the part of the World Health Organization (WHO). The many dead are a sad testimony to the world's inability to adequately respond to the threat posed by contagions. In reaction to this defeat, policymakers now focus on hands-on initiatives to foster global health instead of reformulating international health law. So far, extensive investments and innovations within the WHO, the United Nations system, and in the private sector have multiplied rapidly. The mushrooming of various health initiatives, however, increases the complexity and reduces the consistency of the current global health landscape. The leadership role of the WHO needs to be restored to provide a coherent response for the next global scale public health emergency. To this end, a fundamental reform of the presently widely neglected international regulatory framework in the field of public law, the IHR, is of vital importance. Keywords: World Health Organization, International Health Regulations, Infectious Diseases, Ebola, Influenza, Public Health, Public Health Emergency

scholarly journals Pandemic response and international law: The case of COVID-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 03 (01) ◽  
pp. 59-64
Author(s):  
Qian Qin ◽  
Tianyu Luo
Keyword(s):  
International Law ◽  
International Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
Health Law ◽  
Contagious Diseases ◽  
The World ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Pandemic Response ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Health Regulations

The coronavirus pandemic is currently raging throughout the world. The ensuing crisis has acquired a multidimensional nature, affecting all levels of society, including international health legal order. For international health law, the World Health Organization (WHO) is the international institution with a core mandate in issues of global health. Moreover, the International Health Regulations (IHR) is the main legally binding instrument laying down rules for the cross-border spread of contagious diseases. Against this backdrop, this paper evaluates the issues and disputes under the current regimes of international health law. The paper then offers some thoughts by way of answers to the research questions.

Organization of restrictive quarantine measures to prevent especially dangerous infections

2020 ◽  
pp. 6-11
Author(s):  
Petr Ilyin
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Clinical Symptoms ◽  
International Health ◽  
World Health ◽  
The World ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Former Ussr ◽  
Health Regulations

Especially dangerous infections (EDIs) belong to the conditionally labelled group of infectious diseases that pose an exceptional epidemic threat. They are highly contagious, rapidly spreading and capable of affecting wide sections of the population in the shortest possible time, they are characterized by the severity of clinical symptoms and high mortality rates. At the present stage, the term "especially dangerous infections" is used only in the territory of the countries of the former USSR, all over the world this concept is defined as "infectious diseases that pose an extreme threat to public health on an international scale." Over the entire history of human development, more people have died as a result of epidemics and pandemics than in all wars combined. The list of especially dangerous infections and measures to prevent their spread were fixed in the International Health Regulations (IHR), adopted at the 22nd session of the WHO's World Health Assembly on July 26, 1969. In 1970, at the 23rd session of the WHO's Assembly, typhus and relapsing fever were excluded from the list of quarantine infections. As amended in 1981, the list included only three diseases represented by plague, cholera and anthrax. However, now annual additions of new infections endemic to different parts of the earth to this list take place. To date, the World Health Organization (WHO) has already included more than 100 diseases in the list of especially dangerous infections.

Triage Management, Survival, and the Law in the Age of Ebola

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederick M Burkle ◽  
Christopher M Burkle
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
International Health ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Population Based ◽  
World Health ◽  
Economic Stability ◽  
Budget Cuts ◽  
The Public ◽  
Level 3 ◽  
Health Organization

AbstractLiberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea lack the public health infrastructure, economic stability, and overall governance to stem the spread of Ebola. Even with robust outside assistance, the epidemiological data have not improved. Vital resource management is haphazard and left to the discretion of individual Ebola treatment units. Only recently has the International Health Regulations (IHR) and World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, making this crisis their fifth ongoing level 3 emergency. In particular, the WHO has been severely compromised by post-2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) staffing, budget cuts, a weakened IHR treaty, and no unambiguous legal mandate. Population-based triage management under a central authority is indicated to control the transmission and ensure fair and decisive resource allocation across all triage categories. The shared responsibilities critical to global health solutions must be realized and the rightful attention, sustained resources, and properly placed legal authority be assured within the WHO, the IHR, and the vulnerable nations. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-6)

Enhancing Collaboration during Humanitarian Response: An Interim Report from Stakeholders Survey

2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. 414-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shivani Parmar ◽  
Ano Lobb ◽  
Susan Purdin ◽  
Sharon McDonnell
Keyword(s):  
Working Group ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
World Health ◽  
Interim Report ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Humanitarian Response ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Health Organization ◽  
Coordination And Collaboration

AbstractThe effectiveness of humanitarian response efforts has long been hampered by a lack of coordination among responding organizations. The need for increased coordination and collaboration, as well as the need to better understand experiences with coordination, were recognized by participants of a multilateral Working Group convened to examine the challenges of coordination in humanitarian health responses. This preliminary study is an interim report of an ongoing survey designed by the Working Group to describe the experiences of coordination and collaboration in greater detail, including factors that promote or discourage coordination and lessons learned, and to determine whether there is support for a new consortium dedicated to coordination. To date, 30 key informants have participated in 25-minute structured interviews that were recorded and analyzed for major themes. Participants represented 21 different agencies and organizations: nine non-governmental organizations, eight academic institutions, two donor organizations, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.Common themes that emerged included the role of donors in promoting coordination, the need to build an evidence base, the frequent occurrence of field-level coordination, and the need to build new partnerships. Currently, there is no consensus that a new consortium would be helpful.Addressing the underlying structural and professional factors that currently discourage coordination may be a more effective method for enhancing coordination during humanitarian responses.

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