Covid-19 Fiasco: BRICS calls for reforming WHO

DipanjanRoy.Chaudhury@timesgroup.com
New Delhi: The BRICS grouping, which includes China, for the first time on Tuesday called for reforms of the World Health Organisation, a body whose role has come under scrutiny since the outbreak of Covid-19, through a declaration at its annual summit.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also brought this up in his address at the Summit in the context of the larger UN reforms. “There are bodies like the WTO, IMF and the World Health Organisation that don’t reflect the realities of the present. And they need reform.”

The outgoing Trump Administration had cut off US contribution to the body alleging that it was lenient to China in the early days of the pandemic. While a Biden presidency is likely to have a rethink on that decision, the WHO still remains under considerable pressure on this score.

The grouping, however, adopted a language that leaves the scope, nature and direction of the reform open to interpretation.

“We acknowledge that current interconnected international challenges should be addressed by strengthened international cooperation in the interest of both nations and peoples through reinvigorated and reformed multilateral system, including the UN, the WTO, the WHO, the IMF and other international organizations. We underline, in this regard, the imperative that international organizations be fully driven by Member States and promote the interest of all,” read the Moscow Declaration of the BRICS Summit held virtually amid the pandemic under the Russian Presidency.

Chinese President Xi Jinping in his remarks noted that it was “important to step up international coordination and response, and share information and epidemic control experience to stop the virus in its tracks.” He suggested that the grouping should extend its full support to the WHO leadership.

The WHO has been criticized for how it dealt with the novel coronavirus as it spread from China to Europe, the United States and other countries including India. EU wants WHO to be more open about how countries report health crises. EU has proposed a plan to deal with the United Nations health agency’s problems with financing, governance and legal powers.China on its part had stated it wanted to “actively participate” in WHO reforms. But cautioned that such reforms should not serve the interests of any one country.But it was not just reforms of multilateral bodies that was the focus of Modi’s address at BRICS Summit led by host and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Asserting that terrorism is the “biggest problem” facing the world, Modi said there was a need to ensure that countries supporting and assisting terrorists are held guilty, in an oblique reference to Pakistan. The Prime Minister also said there was a need to tackle the problem of terrorism in an organised manner.The 12th BRICS summit was also attended by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. The BRICS represents over 3.6 billion people, or half of the world’s population.