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Nicholas Qua
Jun 23, 202210 min read

The World Health Organization and Global Health

Introduction


The first official reported case of COVID-19 from China was in December 2019 in Wuhan. According to MedicineNet (2021), a group of British researchers studying the origins of COVID-19 concluded that the first case in Wuhan arose in October or November 2019. In the early months of COVID-19 in China, it is not surprising that the Communist Party of China (CCP) was not transparent with information as they worked diligently to suppress information coming out of Wuhan. Independent journalists and Chinese citizens were blocked from social media, ordered to stay at home, or even arrested for trying to shed light on the situation in the country (See; Wired 2020, and Vice2020). When the CCP finally confirmed the first case in December 2019, Western news and media were flooded with horrible scenes of COVID-19 in Chinese cities.


China responded to COVID-19 outbreaks with strict public health measures. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), China’s public health response was highly successful. Because of China’s claimed success, the WHO advocated for countries to implement similar measures. When COVID-19 cases began to rise worldwide, most countries followed the WHO’s recommendations.


China, the World Health Organization, and the global response


In late February 2020, the WHO released the Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) detailing the WHO’s February 16-24 2020 visit and investigation in China on COVID-19. In this report, the WHO’s goal was:


  • “To enhance understanding of the evolving COVID-19 outbreak in China and the nature and impact of ongoing containment measures.”


  • “To share knowledge on COVID-19 response and preparedness measures being implemented in countries affected by or at risk of importations of COVID-19.”


  • “To generate recommendations for adjusting COVID-19 containment and response measures in China and internationally;.”


  • “To establish priorities for a collaborative programme of work, research and development to address critical gaps in knowledge and response and readiness tools and activities.”

(Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on COVID-19, 2020 pg 3)


Using China’s statistics, pages 4-16 in this WHO report outline the major findings on the virus (pg 4), outbreak (pg 5), transmission dynamics (pg 9), the symptoms and severity (pg 11), China’s response (pg 14), and knowledge gaps (pg 16). China’s response was as follows:


“Upon the detection of a cluster of pneumonia cases of unknown etiology in Wuhan,

the CCP and the State Council launched the national emergency response. A Central

Leadership Group for Epidemic Response and the Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism

of the State Council were established. General Secretary Xi Jinping personally directed and

deployed the prevention and control work and requested that the prevention and control of the

COVID-19 outbreak be the top priority of government at all levels.”

(Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on COVID-19, 2020 pg 14)


The WHO’s report states China’s protocols were treatment, surveillance, epidemiological investigation, management of close contacts, laboratory testing, relevant surveillance activities, strict travel restrictions, controlled transportation capacity to reduce the movement of people, and limited mass gathering activities (pg 14-15). The WHO concluded in the assessment that “China has rolled out perhaps the most ambitious, agile and aggressive disease containment effort in history” (pg 16). According to the WHO, a key factor in China’s success was “the deep commitment of the Chinese people to collective action in the face of this common threat. At a community level this is reflected in the remarkable solidarity of provinces and cities in support” (pg 17). The WHO also views China’s “non-pharmaceutical” approach to controlling COVID-19 as providing “vital lessons for the global response” (pg 19).


Several Western news outlets reported the success of China’s early COVID-19 measures, and referred to them as lockdowns (See; businessinsider 2020, TheGuardian 2020, TheNewYorker 2020, CNN 2020, abcnews 2021). TheGuardian (2020) mentions that in China’s lockdowns, all non-essential shops closed, vehicles were banned from roads, one family member per house could buy food every two days, and door-to-door health checks. As we know, the global response to COVID-19 was not surprisingly very similar to China’s.


China’s recent lockdowns (April/May 2022)


Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, most countries have dropped almost all public health restrictions and mandates. The consensus amongst these countries is we have to ‘learn to live’ with COVID-19. What about China? Is the CCP accepting to ‘learn to live’ with COVID-19?


In April/May 2022, reports from China indicated a surge of COVID-19 cases in major Chinese cities, resulting in harsh and strict lockdowns (See; Bloomberg 2022, NewYorkPost 2022, CBS News 2022, and Foreign Policy 2022. The CCP has made its ‘no COVID policy’ very clear to the Chinese citizens. Fortunately, many videos from China highlight the devastation of these recent lockdowns and measures imposed by China over the COVID-19 pandemic. These videos are hard to watch.


Marching Chinese health workers:


China’s mass sanitization strategies:

Chinese Public Health Police with facial recognition and thermal camera helmets:

Quarantine camps:

Chinese farmers at work in hazmat suits:


Chinese authorities scanning citizens' (on their knees) QR code vaccine passports:

Chinese authorities arresting protestors:

Chinese authorities removing citizens from their homes:

Chinese citizen protest in Shanghai:

Chinese citizens screaming in distress:


Children in hazmat suits:

Children in quarantine camps:


Mass confiscation and killings of Chinese pets and animals (dogs, cats, and pigs):

Chinese citizens committing suicide due to lockdowns:


A deeper look into the WHO


Currently (June 2022), the WHO has 194 member states. According to the WHO, the top top contributing member states to the organization in 2020-2021 are sovereign nations like the United States of America (693 million USD), Canada (212 million USD), Germany (1,268 million USD), and China (168 million USD). International organizations like the European Commission (466 million USD) and United Nations (103 Million USD). Global banks like the World Bank (132 million USD) are among the contributors to the WHO too. Interestingly, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (751 million USD) is ranked second on the top WHO contributor list.


Bill Gates and the WHO


In 2014, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the WHO, and other International Health organizations ran HPV and Polio vaccine trials in many African countries and India (Sarich, 2014). However, the Gates Foundation and WHO unethically forged signatures and failed to obtain consent from many participants (Sarich, 2014).


The Economic Times of India published a report on young girls aged 9-15 diagnosed with cervical cancer not long after receiving the Gardasil HPV vaccine in 2009. A peer-reviewed article published by the British Medical Journal titled Premature ovarian failure 3 years after menarche in a 16-year-old girl following human papillomavirus vaccination (2012) reveals that the Gardasil HPV vaccine destroyed the ovaries of a 16-year-old girl. 16,000 other individuals in Andhra Pradesh, India, were also given the vaccine. Within months of receiving the vaccine, many of the children fell ill, and by 2010, five of them had died. Another two children were reported to have died in Vadodara, Gujarat, where 14,000 children were vaccinated with another brand of HPV vaccine.


In a World Economic Forum (WEF) article titled If we do it right, we'll only have to do it once’ – Bill Gates calls for a nationwide US shutdown (March 31, 2020), highlights Bill Gates’ public health recommendations during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report shows that Gates urged the United States of America to “totally shut down to stem the spread of COVID-19.” He has also been on record stating the importance of lockdowns and restrictions when dealing with COVID-19 (See; CNN 2020)


In a more recent clip, Bill Gates admits that some aspects of the lockdowns were a bad idea, such as school closures. In the same interview, Gates claims that “we didn’t understand that it’s a fairly low fatality rate and that it’s a disease mainly in the elderly.” However, the February 2020 WHO Report of the WHO-China Joint Mission on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) examined earlier, shows that the fatality rate and the severity among young ages were well known and documented. The “data on individuals aged 18 years old and under suggest that there is a relatively low attack rate in this age group” (pg 11). The WHO report also highlights that “most people infected with COVID-19 virus have mild disease and recover” (pg 12). Furthermore, “individuals at highest risk for severe disease and death include people aged over 60 years” (pg 12).


In many interviews within the last year (2021-2022), Gates warns of potential future pandemics and how we should respond to them (See; MSNBC 2021, BBC News 2022, or Bill Gates 2022). BBC News 2022, or Bill Gates 2022). Gates recently released a book authored by himself titled How to Prevent the Next Pandemic (2022). Gates is an incredibly influential person and has surmised a large amount of wealth. Not only is he a top contributor to the WHO, he also currently owns the most farmland in the United States of America. According to TheLandReport (2021), Gates owns 242,000 acres of farmland in America.

International Pandemic Treaty


Back on March 30 2021, the WHO released a report titled Global leaders unite in urgent call for international pandemic treaty, displaying the World leaders who supported a Global pandemic treaty at that time. World leaders such as Chan-o-cha (Prime Minister of Thailand), Mario Draghi (Prime Minister of Italy), Boris Johnson (Prime Minister of the United Kingdom), Emmanuel Macron (President of France), Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany), Volodymyr Zelensky (President of Ukraine) and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (Director-General of the World Health Organization).


An April 12 2022 article published by the Telegraph titled Real risk a pandemic treaty could be ‘too watered down’ to stop new outbreaks outlines the emerging Global pandemic treaty. Experts “call for an independent body to publicly assess, rebuke and praise pandemic preparedness as part of any new treaty.” The article also highlights how since December 2021, the WHO “agreed to start discussions to thrash out a new agreement aimed at strengthening pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.”


The London School of Economics published an article on March 30 2022 titled A new pandemic treaty: what the World Health Organization needs to do next, echoing the necessity for a Global pandemic treaty. This article claims the WHO must be empowered financially and politically to enforce global compliance. However, what if you disagree with a Global pandemic treaty? The London School of Economics suggests “sanctions such as public reprimands, economic sanctions, or denial of benefits” to incentivize dissenters.


As of June 2022, 196 countries (194 of them being WHO member states) are legally bound to the WHO’s International Health Regulations (IHR). The IHR is the set of regulations that state the rights and obligations of the 196 countries to report public health actions. One example of such obligations the 196 countries must follow can be found in the Proposal for amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005). In a WHO report from the 75th World Health Assembly on April 12 2022 titled Strengthening WHO preparedness for and response to health emergencies, it republished the Proposal for amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005).


The United States of America drafted the Proposal for amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) addressed to the United Nations, International Organizations, and the WHO. The proposal states each State Party shall “develop, strengthen and maintain, as soon as possible but no later than five years from the entry into force of these Regulations for that State Party, the capacity to detect, assess, notify and report events in accordance with these Regulations” (pg. 5).


Some regulations include:

  1. Surveillance

    • “WHO and its Regional Offices shall, upon the request of a State Party, provide or facilitate technical support and assist in mobilization of financial resources to develop, strengthen and maintain such capacities” (pg 5)

2. Notification

  • “Each State Party shall notify WHO, by the most efficient means of communication available, by way of the National IHR Focal Point, and within 24 hours of assessment of public health information, of all events which may constitute a public health emergency of international concern within its territory in accordance with the decision instrument” (pg 5)

3. Verification

  • “Within 24 hours of receiving information, WHO shall request, in accordance with Article 9, verification from a State Party of reports from sources other than notifications or consultations of events which may constitute a public health emergency of international concern allegedly occurring in the State’s territory” (pg 6)

By way of concluding


An International Pandemic Treaty suggested by the World Health Organization (WHO) would take some time to draft, revise, and obtain legal acceptance from all countries involved. Nonetheless, such an International Treaty would include revised regulations from current agreements such as the International Health Regulations (IHR) and potential new regulations. The main difference between past regulations like the IHR and a new pandemic treaty is that an International Pandemic Treaty would give the WHO legal power to impose mandates, guidelines, and rules over sovereign countries. Following the WHO’s orders, sovereign nations would have a legal obligation to impose the regulations on their nation.


The WHO would only have authority during whatever they deem a ‘public health crisis.’ The WHO defines ‘public health’ as “the art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting health through the organized efforts of society” (See; WHO Definition of Public Health 2020). The WHO’s definition of ‘health’ is “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (See; WHO Definition of Public Health 2019). Was China’s response and most recent (April/May 2022) lockdowns in accordance to the WHO’s definitions of public health and health?


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By: Nicholas Qua

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