The United States has rejected a global pandemic treaty adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO), saying it threatens national sovereignty and lacks clear language.
The United States has officially declined to join a World Health Organization agreement designed to improve global coordination for future pandemics. The treaty was adopted by WHO member states in May after three years of negotiation in Geneva. It aims to ensure equitable access to vaccines, treatments and diagnostics during health emergencies.
In a joint statement released Friday, the U.S. Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the decision. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the agreement gives too much authority to the WHO and was developed without sufficient public input.
The treaty requires participating manufacturers to provide 20% of pandemic-related vaccines, medicines and tests to the WHO. The goal is to support lower-income countries in accessing life-saving supplies during outbreaks.
According to the U.S. statement, the agreement uses language that is too vague and broad. Officials warned that this could result in international responses shaped by political ideals such as solidarity, rather than fast and effective action. Rubio and Kennedy said rejecting the agreement helps protect U.S. sovereignty.
U.S. negotiators had already withdrawn from the discussions after President Donald Trump began the formal process of pulling the U.S. out of the WHO when he took office in January.
Kennedy, who has long questioned vaccine safety, criticized the WHO in a video address to the Assembly during its vote. He said the agency had failed to learn key lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic when shaping the new agreement.
Although U.S. officials say the rejection defends national authority, legal experts point out that the treaty does not override domestic health policies. The agreement explicitly leaves final decisions in the hands of national governments.
President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against the BBC over edited footage of a speech that made it appear he encouraged supporters to ...
Ford Motor Company said on Monday it will take a $19.5 billion writedown and scrap several electric vehicle (EV) models, marking a major retreat from ...
Schools across Cambodia and Thailand were forced to close on Monday as border clashes between the two countries escalated, with the death toll reachin...
Police in Providence are going door to door for home surveillance footage as the hunt continues for the shooter who killed two Brown University studen...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy engaged in high-level talks in Berlin from 14-15 December, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.S. envoys,...
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy engaged in high-level talks in Berlin from 14-15 December, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, U.S. envoys, and European leaders, focusing on security guarantees and the framework for a potential peace deal with Russia.
Syria has arrested five people suspected of having links to a deadly attack on a joint U.S.–Syrian convoy in the central town of Palmyra on Saturday, the country’s Interior Ministry said.
The U.S. condemned a drone strike on a United Nations base in Kadugli, on Saturday that killed six Bangladeshi peacekeepers and injured eight others in the disputed Abyei region between Sudan and South Sudan.
Two U.S. Army soldiers and a U.S. civilian interpreter were killed, and three other service members wounded, after an ISIS gunman ambushed a joint U.S.-Syrian patrol near Palmyra in central Syria, Pentagon officials said.
Russia’s human rights commissioner, Tatyana Moskalkova, has said that Ukraine has not provided Moscow with a list of thousands of children it alleges were taken illegally to Russia, despite the issue being discussed during talks in Istanbul.
An explosive device found in a vehicle linked to one of the alleged attackers in Bondi shooting has been secured and removed according to Police. The incident left 12 people dead.
Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa has offered condolences to President Donald Trump following an ISIS attack near the ancient city of Palmyra that killed two U.S. soldiers and a civilian interpreter, Syrian and U.S. officials said Sunday.
At least 17 people, including students, were killed and 20 others injured after a school bus fell off a cliff in northern Colombia on Sunday, authorities said.
At least 14 people have died and 32 others were injured after flash floods swept through Morocco’s Atlantic coastal city of Safi on Sunday, authorities said.
China has announced plans to fully cover childbirth-related costs for families as authorities move to incentivise young couples to have more children.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Thursday that he still hopes the U.S. administration will reconsider its decision to withdraw from the organisation next month, warning that its exit would be a loss for the world.
The United States has signed significant health cooperation agreements with Uganda and Lesotho, further strengthening bilateral relations and advancing global health initiatives, the U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday.
A viral claim circulating online that Denmark requires sperm donors to have an IQ of at least 85 is misleading. While one Danish sperm bank, Donor Network, does use an IQ threshold, there is no nationwide legal requirement for donors to meet a specific level of intelligence.
Chinese scientists have unveiled a new gene-editing therapy that they say could lead to a functional cure for HIV, making it one of the most promising developments in decades of global research.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment