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Health policies that infringe on national sovereignty must remain under the control of nation states - not unelected global bodies.
Instead of one-size-fits-all treaties and mandates that dictate or put pressure on governments to implement public health measures that interfere with domestic policies, the WHO should advise and facilitate international cooperation.
We call on our elected politicians to demand a review of existing WHO treaties and agreements at a national level with a focus on taking back control of national public health in areas where the WHO is overreaching.
Thousands died during the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the 2003 SARS outbreak in Far East Asia, while millions more lost their lives during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The WHO acted slowly and incompetently to prevent the spread of these highly infectious diseases when it could have saved lives. It has never apologised, nor explained these failings, especially after it claimed there was no human-to-human transmission of COVID. Instead, with a delay of over a year before investigating the origins of COVID, the WHO allowed crucial data to slip through its fingers, and undermined international health security.
We call on national politicians to hold those responsible for these failings to account, and for the WHO to reform its processes so that the next outbreak is either prevented, identified and/or treated more quickly and effectively.
With almost 9,500 staff, the WHO wastes too much money. An investigation in 2017, found it spent $200 million on travel; more than on AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined.
It is costing taxpayers almost US$ 7 billion in 2024-25 with US, UK and EU taxpayers currently paying the most, while also taking 100s of millions of dollars from non-State actors (private investors and corporations).
We call on countries to cut their contributions to all non-essential programs and force the WHO to manage its budgets more effectively and responsibly.
We also call on the WHO to stop taking money from non-State actors to avoid them gaining influence that may be used to undermine nation states.
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Bodily autonomy, individual freedom, and personal responsibility are principles that no organization should undermine, especially an unelected and unaccountable one.
Adults should be treated like adults, instead of the WHO bullying countries into treating its citizens like children through excessive restrictions and mandates on food, alcohol, fizzy drinks, medical treatments, and smoking cessation products.
Public health decisions and policies should be made by nation states, and a review is needed among all countries to determine which powers need repatriating to their citizens.
The WHO's mishandling of COVID-19, the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in West Africa, and the 2003 SARS outbreak in Far East Asia, prove that the WHO cannot be trusted to contain the next pandemic.
Yet, the proposed new "Pandemic Treaty", and amendments to International Health Regulations (IHR) agreed at the 77th World Health Assembly in June 2024, will hand over unprecedented powers from countries to the WHO if they are not stopped. They would allow the WHO to dictate national public health policies and restrict fundamental freedoms in a future pandemic.
The WHO should not be dictating terms to countries and their citizens, so we call upon national governments which have until April 2025 to reject both the IHR amendments and instruct the WHO to cancel the “Pandemic Treaty”.
