GENEVA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th May, 2021) French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday spoke in favor of the World Heath organization having the authority to inquire into the emergence of novel pathogens that could lead to another pandemic in any national territory.
The idea to give the WHO the mandate to independently investigate emerging pathogens of potential global significance in national territories was proposed by the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response earlier in May.
"We must also give the WHO the possibility of launching rapid response missions on the ground as soon as there are the very first signs of a pandemic. This is why I support mandating the WHO to inquire into emerging pathogens. It would give the WHO easy access to any national territory of concern," Macron said at the opening of the 74th World Health Assembly.
The WHO's current mandate requires it to request authorization from governments before sending missions to their countries, as it was the case with WHO fact-finding missions that went to China's Wuhan to inquire about COVID-19.
The 74th World Health Assembly is taking place online from Monday to next Tuesday. It is focused on pandemic preparedness and management.
