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Wednesday 12 May 2021

More bureaucracy is the answer



The Covid-19 pandemic was preventable, an independent review panel has said.

The panel, set up by the World Health Organization, said the combined response of the WHO and global governments was a "toxic cocktail".

To prevent another catastrophic pandemic, the report suggests key reforms:
  • A new global threats council should be created with the power to hold countries accountable
  • There should be a disease surveillance system to publish information without the approval of countries concerned
  • Vaccines must be classed as public goods and there should be a pandemic financing facility
There was an immediate request for the wealthy G7 nations to commit $1.9bn (£1.3bn) to the WHO's Covax programme providing vaccine support to low income countries.

The report itself thinks climate change should be in there somewhere so it is. Page 20  -

The threats to human, animal and environmental health are inextricably linked, and instruments to address them need to include climate change agreements and “30x30” global biodiversity targets.

Lots of other global centralisation waffle too of course, with plenty of scope for widening the international bureaucrat's career. I only skimmed it, but didn't see much specific accountability in there. Maybe I missed it.

6 comments:

Sam Vega said...

"The power to hold countries accountable".

That's an interesting one, isn't it? What are they going to do, send a gunboat? Or maybe they will just make certain countries pay more to support them.

Scrobs. said...

If there was money to be made, the pharma companies would be all over this, and do the work without the interference of the WHO, so if the latter just bugger off, we could get a result!

But it won't happen...

The NHS will love this of course.

DiscoveredJoys said...

Although Tony Benn was sadly misguided in many ways, his 5 questions seem appropriate:

“What power have you got?”

“Where did you get it from?”

“In whose interests do you use it?”

“To whom are you accountable?”

“How do we get rid of you?”

A Global Threats Council sounds like an Utopianist wet dream, and a steady ratcheting towards a global government with no democratic control. We have just escaped one 'ever closer union' cabal. Why support an even bigger one?

Doonhamer said...

I think we all who would be paying for this.
Also the sort of people, and from which nations, would be running this.
And whose relatives would get the nice jobs, private jets, good looking staff, and big white Landcruisers.
Am I right? Or am I right?
And if you do not do as you are told they will huff and they will puff until......

Bucko said...

That all sounds like hideousness than needs to be in the bin, but "The power to hold countries accountable"?
The don't have any power to force countries to do anything if they don't do what they are told, so the best they can do is probably impose fines, and they would likely have to be voluntary
And the money would probably go towards funding more of the same

A K Haart said...

Sam - maybe to begin with it is intended to be no more than a naming and shaming process as a foot in the political door, followed by fines perhaps.

Scrobs - everyone will love it if they can just shove the blame further up the line.

DJ - yes, Benn's five questions must be about the best thing he ever came up with. It could be taught in schools but never will be.

Doonhamer - yes you are right. It really is about the nice jobs, private jets, good looking staff, and big white Landcruisers.

Bucko - the right to initiate a legal process and maybe impose fines would probably satisfy them at this stage. It's the long game they are playing.