World Health Assembly draft resolution by 62 countries to 'evaluate' WHO & China accessed

Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan will represent India at the World Health Assembly organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on Monday, May 18. India has joined a group of 62 nations part of a draft resolution calling for a probe into the origin of the Coronavirus pandemic - specifically, an evaluation of the WHO's response and its timelines, which are impossible to separate from China, which has come under unprecedented scrutiny following the global pandemic originating from its shores.

The WHO meeting will be held on Monday at 3.30 PM which will be attended by all 194 WHO member nations. The key focus of the two day Assembly will be the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed the lives of over 4 lakh people with approximately 4.6 million infected thus far.

During the meeting WHO will also discuss a slew of concerns regarding the deadly disease. The organisation has also called for unity and solidarity at all levels to contain, control and mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic. The agenda of the meeting has been limited to two days and will conclude on May 19. 

Here is the draft resolution:

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What is the WHA 2020?

The WHA is the World Health Organization (WHO)’s plenary body whose member states approve the organization’s budget, fill vacancies in its executive board, and vote on agenda items. The two-day meeting will address a resolution proposed by the EU to jointly develop affordable diagnostics, medicines, and vaccines for Covid-19. The Assembly is also set to vote on whether Taiwan should be invited to join as a WHO member amid its excellent COVID-19 response, in spite of China's strong opposition as it claims Taiwan as its territory- under the one-China policy.

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The Coronavirus crisis

First detected in Wuhan in December 2019, COVID-19- the novel coronavirus has affected nearly 160 countries in the world. As there is no vaccine or specific antiviral medicine to deal to treat COVID-19, countries have been grappling with all possible mechanisms to contain its scope. So far, China, South Korea, Italy, Spain, Iran, US, France, UK, India have witnessed the most number of confirmed cases.  With the US as the 'epicentre', Coronavirus has 4,745,453 cases globally with 313,747 deaths.

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