US rejects WHO global pandemic response accord
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States has rejected an agreement adopted by members of the World Health Organization to improve preparedness for future pandemics following the disjointed global response to COVID-19, the government said on Friday.
The Department of State and Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement they had transmitted on Friday the official U.S. rejection of the legally binding pact, which was adopted in Geneva in May after three years of negotiations.
The pact aims to ensure that drugs, therapeutics and vaccines are globally accessible when the next pandemic hits. It requires participating manufacturers to allocate a target of 20% of their vaccines, medicines and tests to the WHO during a pandemic to ensure poorer countries have access.
U.S. negotiators left discussions about the accord after President Donald Trump began a 12-month process of withdrawing the U.S. - by far the WHO's largest financial backer - from the agency when he took office in January. Its exit means the U.S. would not be bound by the pact.
"Developed without adequate public input, these amendments expand the role of the WHO in public health emergencies, create additional authorities for the WHO for shaping pandemic declarations, and promote WHO's ability to facilitate 'equitable access' of health commodities," the U.S. statement said.
"Terminology throughout the 2024 amendments is vague and broad, risking WHO-coordinated international responses that focus on political issues like solidarity, rather than rapid and effective actions," said the statement, jointly issued by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Kennedy, who has a long history of sowing doubt about vaccine safety, had slammed WHO in a video address to the Assembly during its vote, saying it had failed to learn from the lessons of the pandemic with the new agreement.
Kennedy and Rubio said on Friday that the rejection protects U.S. sovereignty. The pact leaves health policy to national governments and contains nothing that overrides national sovereignty, however.
(Reporting by Ahmed AbouleneinEditing by Alexandra Hudson)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
24 minutes ago
- The Star
Deported Venezuelan imprisoned in El Salvador files formal complaint against US
FILE PHOTO: Venezuelan migrants who had been detained in El Salvador disembark from a plane at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, July 18, 2025. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/File Photo WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A Venezuelan man filed a formal complaint on Thursday against the U.S. government for sending him to El Salvador's most notorious prison, a new legal strategy that could be duplicated by others who have said they were falsely accused of gang membership by President Donald Trump's administration. Neiyerver Adrián Leon Rengel, 27, filed what it called an administrative complaint with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, contending that federal employees wrongfully removed him from the United States without cause or due process. Rengel's complaint, which seeks $1.3 million in monetary damages, is not a lawsuit brought in a court but rather an action filed with the government alleging a violation of law. It is the first of its kind brought by one of the 252 Venezuelan men who were deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador in March. He invoked the Federal Tort Claims Act, a U.S. law that allows people to sue the U.S. government for wrongful acts committed by federal employees acting within the scope of their employment. Under that law, a complaint must be filed with the appropriate agency before a lawsuit can be brought. The government now has six months to investigate and respond to Rengel's complaint. If it denies his claim or fails to respond in that time period, Rengel could then sue in federal court. The Republican president, who campaigned in last year's election on a pledge of mass deportations, in March invoked a 1798 statute called the Alien Enemies Act as part of an effort to quickly deport alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador. The law authorizes the president to deport, detain or place restrictions on individuals whose primary allegiance is to a foreign power and who might pose a national security risk in wartime. The U.S. government last invoked the Alien Enemies Act, which historically has been employed only during wartime, during World War Two to intern and deport people of Japanese, German and Italian descent. The Venezuelan deportees were held incommunicado in El Salvador's maximum security CECOT prison until they were returned to Venezuela last week as part of a prisoner swap between the United States and Venezuela. Family and friends of some of them said the deportees were not gang members and were wrongly accused based on tattoos, hand gestures and clothing. Venezuelan government officials and deportees have said they were tortured in prison. Rengel's lawyers said in the complaint that, because of his tattoos, DHS employees detained him in the parking lot of his apartment in Irving, Texas, and falsely accused him of membership in the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin in a statement on Thursday reiterated the U.S. government's claim that Rengel was associated with Tren de Aragua and said he was "deemed a public safety threat." McLaughlin said Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem "will not allow foreign terrorist enemies to operate in our country and endanger Americans." Rengel alleged that, after moving him to a detention center, DHS employees lied to him, telling him he was being sent to Venezuela. "Instead, for more than four months, Rengel languished in El Salvador – which is not his country of origin and a place where he has no ties – where he suffered physical, verbal and psychological abuse," the complaint said. (Reporting by Jan Wolfe; Additional reporting by Ted Hesson; Editing by Amy Stevens and Will Dunham)
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Trump signs executive order on college sports, White House says
U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on artificial intelligence at the "Winning the AI Race" Summit in Washington D.C., U.S., July 23, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo
The Star
an hour ago
- The Star
Moldova seeks extradition of business magnate Plahotniuc held in Greece
Leader of the Democratic Party of Moldova Vladimir Plahotniuc delivers a speech during a rally demanding a creation of parliament coalition, in Chisinau, Moldova June 9, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo CHISINAU (Reuters) -Moldovan authorities said on Thursday they launched extradition proceedings for Moldovan business magnate Vladimir Plahotniuc, detained in Greece on a warrant related to a fraud case over the disappearance of $1 billion from banks in the ex-Soviet state. Plahotniuc, former leader of a small political party, was arrested on Tuesday at the Athens airport while on his way to Dubai. He has denied wrongdoing. An Interpol red notice was issued against him based on accusations that include participation in a criminal organisation, money laundering and fraud. He is accused in connection with the disappearance of $1 billion from Moldovan banks in 2014 known as the "theft of the century." The sum equalled 12% of Moldova's gross domestic product at the time. "The prosecutor's office expresses its conviction that ... Greek authorities will agree to the request for the purpose of bringing to account the person being sought," Moldova's general prosecutor's office said. Moldovan media said this week that Russia was also seeking Plahotniuc's extradition in connection with drugs offences. Viorel Cernauteanu, head of Moldova's general police inspectorate, said the Moldovan request would get priority treatment as Chisinau had actively sought his arrest. Plahotniuc was expected to appear before a Greek prosecutor on Friday. Since 2023, Plahotniuc has lived in 22 countries, changing residence regularly to avoid detection, Greek police said. A police investigation found that Plahotniuc was living with his partner in a luxurious villa in the Athens suburbs. Plahotniuc, 59, was the leader of the Democratic party from 2016-2019, part of the governing coalition at the time, and served as deputy speaker of parliament. While in office, he wielded great influence over the police, judiciary and courts. The scandal around the fraud case has had long-lasting reverberations. Moldova's central bank chief was removed in 2023 after failed attempts to recover the lost money. In 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions on seven people from Moldova, including Plahotniuc, for actions that it said destabilised and undermined the territorial integrity of Moldova and neighbouring Ukraine. (Reporting by Alexander Tanas, Additional reporting by Renee Maltezou in Athens, Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
