World Health Organization (OMS) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) made a joint call on Monday (20.04.2020) for their member countries to share information on the measures they have implemented against COVID-19.
WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the joint declaration.
"We call on our Members to continue sharing information on their measures with the WHO and WTO, in accordance with established transparency mechanisms, which are now especially valuable in supporting a coordinated response,” they said.
The novel coronavirus has sickened more than 2.39 million people, with 164,500 deaths. More than 80 countries have closed their borders to arrivals from countries with infections, ordered businesses to close, instructed their populations to quarantine and closed schools for an estimated 1,500 billion children.
"To ensure that health technologies, including diagnostics, medicines, vaccines and other vital medical supplies “In order to ensure that the vaccines for the treatment of patients infected with COVID-19 reach those in need quickly, we emphasize the importance of simplifying compliance controls based on regulatory cooperation and international standards,” they added.
Azevêdo and Adhanom Ghebreyesus support efforts to ensure the smooth flow of vital medical supplies and other goods and services across borders. “Our highest priority is to protect life, and those efforts can be hampered by unnecessary disruptions to global trade and supply chains,” they said.
COVID-19 has rapidly progressed to become a global pandemic, causing unprecedented and far-reaching impact on the health, social and economic well-being of communities around the world.
According to the WHO and WTO, Global and coordinated action is required to address the extraordinary challenges posed by the pandemic to people's health and livelihoods.
Trade policy decisions by governments have a significant impact on both getting medical equipment and supplies to where they are urgently needed and catalysing the supply of critical inputs for the production of medicines and health technologies to combat the pandemic.
Keeping trade in health technologies as open and predictable as possible is therefore of vital interest. “This will help countries respond to this crisis, recover from it and build health systems that foster greater resilience in the future,” the two directors commented.
WHO and WTO promote compliance with the International Health Regulations (2005) and WTO standards.
The purpose of the International Health Regulations is to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of diseases in a manner proportionate to the risks to public health, in order to minimize interference with international traffic and trade.
WTO rules provide governments with the flexibility they may need to address shortages of essential medical supplies and/or public health challenges.
But any measures taken to promote public health that restrict trade must be “targeted, proportionate, transparent and temporary.”, in line with recent calls by world leaders.
WTO and WHO chiefs stress importance of trade openness to ensure flow of vital medical supplies https://t.co/SmPTdM0Xse pic.twitter.com/4ngRpAZR4l
— WTO in Spanish (@OMC_es) April 20, 2020
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