Mobilizing Global Solidarity in the Fight Against Public Health Emergencies

By Anahita Haidari

In May 2023, the Global Health Law Consortium and the International Commission of Jurists launched the Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies (the ‘Principles’). The Principles were launched in a side event of the 76th World Health Assembly at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland. Drawing on lessons from previous public health crises, the new set of principles proposes a critical framework for ensuring that human rights considerations are at the core of the prevention of, preparedness for, and response to public health emergencies, as well as in the recovery of health systems after emergencies.

I supported the launch of the Principles as a global health graduate student and what stood out to me was the insightful discussion and dialogue around global solidarity. One of the most reprehensible shortcomings of the COVID-19 pandemic was that of global solidarity. While limitations on human rights during the pandemic had a disastrous effect on people’s social and economic living conditions in every country, the global south once again received the short end of the stick when it came to acquiring equitable access to pandemic-related products, technologies, and other resources to enable them to adequately confront the challenges of the pandemic.

As one panellist, Dr. Viviana Muñoz Tellez of the South Centre, pointed out “…the idea was, when we have vaccine doses, we will distribute at least 20% proportionally and highlight the more vulnerable populations that need to go first. Unfortunately, that did not happen mainly because the more affluent countries had advanced marketing commitments […] we had competition rather than cooperation”. It is vital to recognize that solidarity encompasses the interests of states on a global scale to achieve common goals and shared objectives in relation to public health emergency prevention, preparedness, response, as well as recovery. The Principles recognize this imperative noting that: “in the context of a public health emergency, [solidarity] reinforces rights-based actions in accordance with obligations of international cooperation […] including measures on technical and financial cooperation, and equitable access to health goods, facilities, services and technologies”. With globalization, the practice of technology transfer and resource distribution to the global south should have occurred with minimal barriers during the recent pandemic. The Principles unequivocally state that solidarity cannot be trivialized in the context of global health emergencies.

Of course, shortcomings in global solidarity have been felt in previous public health emergencies as well, notably in the context of HIV. For decades now, HIV has been a longstanding global health challenge however, developing nations are unquestionably placed at a greater risk due to lack of financial resources, medical equipment, and information. Since 2006, the commitment towards solidarity has been a reoccurring theme in the Political Declarations on HIV and AIDS. The 2021 Political Declaration, for instance, urges states to: “commit to urgent action over the next five years through a coordinated global HIV response based on global solidarity and shared responsibility…”. With the objective of enhancing global solidarity, the declarations emphasize and support collaborative technology transfers, increased HIV investments in low- and middle-income countries, as well as developing the capacities of high-risk nations to strengthen health systems and improve health regulation. The most recent draft of the WHO CA+ can draw from the Principles to strengthen provisions of solidarity, particularly in the context of achieving the common interest of more equitable prevention, response, and recovery measures and fair distribution of pandemic-related products. International bodies and experts have gradually begun to acquire insights from previous health emergencies, and this is widely reflected not only in health declarations and instruments, but also in interpretations of international laws, such as the Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Public Health Emergencies.

The international community must reconnect with the objective of ensuring that human rights and equity are prioritized and central in the prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery phases of future pandemics, while also implementing measures to guarantee that global solidarity takes precedence in all global efforts in addressing pandemics.