United Nations recognises COVID-19 as one of the greatest challenges in its history

United Nations General Assembly has passed a new resolution on COVID-19 wherein it called the pandemic one of the greatest challenges since the establishment of the organisation. The text of the resolution was adopted on Friday, September 11 and was supported by 169 member states.

The UNGA resolution stated that the pandemic has caused severe loss of life and has also had negative impacts on human rights, food security, education as well as the global economy. The resolution also acknowledged the hard work and sacrifice of frontline workers in addressing the global health crisis while pointing out the growing level of discrimination and xenophobia that the virus has brought.

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United Nations on COVID-19

Back in April, the UNGA adopted Resolution 74/270, calling for international cooperation in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As per reports, the resolution stated that COVID-19 was a ‘threat to human, health, safety and wellbeing’ and recognised the devastating impact of the virus on affected countries, with respect to tourism, economy, trade and commerce.

United Nations General Assembly in its resolution called for greater international cooperation in battling the COVID-19 virus and emphasised that only a global response that is based on ‘unity, solidarity and renewed multilateral cooperation’ could defeat the virus. The UNGA stated that there must be a free flow of information and scientific knowledge regarding the virus.

The COVID-19 pandemic which saw its first outbreak in a wet market in Wuhan, China last year has now spread all across the world. The virus, named COVID-19 by the World Health Organisation, has infected over 28 million people worldwide with the global death toll reaching over 900,000.

As per the John Hopkins coronavirus resource centre, the United States has reported a total of at least 6 million positive virus cases and has a death toll of 192,834. The US currently has the highest number of reported cases in the world, making it the epicentre of the deadly virus.

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International Health Regulations to be reviewed

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation has announced that it will be conducting a thorough review of the performance of the International Health Regulations during the coronavirus pandemic.

The International Health Regulations were first introduced in 2005 and is a legal framework that clearly states a countries rights and obligations during an international health crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. The Regulations also contain the criteria which state when the WHO can declare a “public health emergency of international concern”. The IHR is legally binding to 196 countries, including 194 member states.

(With ANI Input) 

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