International and Global Health Law.pptx

International and Global Health Law

1. International and Global Health Law This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

2. Learning Objective To understand how international health law and global health law effort plays role in securing global public health To understand the factors playing a rol in COVID-19 pandemic or any other pandemic

3. The Global Health Threat

4. Global Health Issues Refers to any health issue that concerns many countries or is affected by transnational determinants such as: Climate change Urbanisation Refugee / exodus Humanitarian disaster (War, Nationwide disaster) Malnutrition – under or over nutrition Or solutions such as: Polio eradication Containment of avian influenza Approaches to tobacco control COVID-19 Pandemic control Containment of Ebola disease

5. The Global Health Challenge

6. The Global Health Face

7. Definition Global Health is : Health problems, issues, and concerns that transcend national boundaries, which may be influenced by circumstances or experiences in other countries, and which are best addressed by cooperative actions and solutions (Institute Of Medicine, USA- 1997)

8. The Development of Term Public Health – Global Health Public Health : Developed as a discipline in the mid 19 th century in UK, Europe and US. Concerned more with national issues. Data and evidence to support action, focus on populations, social justice and equity, emphasis on preventions vs cure. International Health : Developed during past decades, came to be more concerned with the diseases (e.g. tropical diseases) and conditions (war, natural disasters) of middle and low income countries. Tended to denote a one way flow of ‘good ideas’. Global Health: More recent in its origin and emphasises a greater scope of health problems and solutions that transcend national boundaries requiring greater inter-disciplinary approach

9. Disciplines involved in Global Health Social sciences Behavioural sciences Law Economics History Engineering Biomedical sciences Environmental sciences

10. International Health Law International Health law is a emerging Public International Law study which revolves around international health policy including health quality improvement, health right defense and pandemic prevention However health equity, or health justice, is currently not sufficiently emphasised in public international law as compared to, for example, international trade and humanitarian law. health equity and the protection of health need to be placed more firmly on the international law agenda so as to be able to balance the interests of trade, economic growth and warfare against the protection of the health of individuals and groups. The problem which undermine international health effort lies in the limitation of international law itself which act as a soft law in moderating between member state interest and common interest. Any efforts made within International law basis is also limited by sovereign immunity of its member state.

11. International Health Regulation 2005 (IHR 2005) The IHR are an instrument of international law that is legally-binding on 196 countries, including the 194 WHO Member States. The IHR  grew out of the response to  deadly epidemics that once overran Europe. They create rights and obligations for countries, including the requirement to report public health events. The Regulations also  outline the criteria to determine whether or not a particular event constitutes a  “public health emergency of international concern”.  At the same time, the IHR require countries to designate a National IHR Focal Point for communications with WHO, to establish and maintain core capacities for surveillance and response, including at designated points of entry. Additional provisions address the areas of  international travel and transport such as the health documents required for international traffic. Finally, the IHR introduce important safeguards to protect the rights of travellers and other persons in relation to the treatment of personal data, informed consent and non-discrimination in the application of health measures under the Regulations.

12. International Health Law Implementation The IHR are an instrument of international law that is legally-binding on 196 countries, including the 194 WHO Member States. The IHR  grew out of the response to  deadly epidemics that once overran Europe. They create rights and obligations for countries, including the requirement to report public health events. The Regulations also  outline the criteria to determine whether or not a particular event constitutes a  “public health emergency of international concern”.  At the same time, the IHR require countries to designate a National IHR Focal Point for communications with WHO, to establish and maintain core capacities for surveillance and response, including at designated points of entry. Additional provisions address the areas of  international travel and transport such as the health documents required for international traffic. Finally, the IHR introduce important safeguards to protect the rights of travellers and other persons in relation to the treatment of personal data, informed consent and non-discrimination in the application of health measures under the Regulations.

13. The International Helath Law Implementation To support countries in strengthening and maintaining their capacities for ensuring rapid detection, verification and response to public health risks, WHO develops and provides tools, guidance and training. WHO’s support focuses on the priority needs identified by the WHO Regional and Country Offices, in order to help each country meet its IHR commitment. This includes: designating WHO IHR Contact Points at the headquarters or the regional level; conducting global public health surveillance and assessment of significant public health events; disseminating public health information to Member States;  offering technical assistance to Member States; supporting Member States in their efforts to assess their existing national public health structures and capacities for surveillance and response, including at designated points of entry; monitoring the implementation of IHR (2005) and updating guidelines; and if required, determining whether or not a particular event constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC), with advice from external experts. If a PHEIC is declared, WHO develops and recommends the critical health measures for implementation by Member States during such an emergency.

14. Global Health Law Through the codification of binding global health law standards that regulate interstate behavior and national conduct as well as the creation of other global norms that influence state actions, global health law has expanding significance in national public health law and policy. The domain of global health law now encompasses increasingly diverse concerns, including aspects of biomedical science and human reproduction/cloning; organ transplantation and xenotransplantation; infectious and noncommunicable diseases; the control of the safety of health services; food and pharmaceuticals in international trade; access to medicines; and the control of addictive and harmful substances such as tobacco and narcotics. Global health law is also increasingly linked to other traditional areas of international legal concern. Environmental law and the control of toxic pollutants, arms control and the banning of weapons of mass destruction, human rights law, nuclear safety and radiation protection, international drug control, customs law, and occupational health and safety are increasingly recognized as inextricably connected to public health.