The director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, expressed confidence that countries will eventually reach an agreement on a pandemic accord despite the failure to reach one last week.
Global health officials have been frustrated with lengthy negotiations, last-minute shifts in position, and growing criticism from sovereignty-conscious commentators that the treaty would undermine national sovereignty, a claim the WHO strongly denies without explanation.
International Pushback
The resistance to the pandemic treaty is illustrated by a truck appearing near the UN headquarters in Geneva. It has a sign that reads "NO to the Pandemic Treaty. STOP the UN Power Grab."
The negotiations involving ministers from the WHO's 194 member states have been ongoing for over two years. The aim is to establish new rules for responding to pandemics following the COVID crisis. Despite failing to produce a draft deal for formal approval by the assembly, Dr. Tedros remains confident that an agreement will be reached.
"Of course, we all wish that we had been able to reach a consensus on the agreement in time for this health assembly, and cross the finish line," Tedros said in his opening address. "I remain confident that you still will, because where there is a will, there is a way. I know that there remains among you a common will to get this done."
A senior US administration official estimated that talks could continue for another 1-2 years, while a health diplomat mentioned potential reforms to the process, along with a possible extension of 5-24 months. Negotiations are still ongoing to update existing health rules on outbreaks. Negotiators say that a deal is close, which could include a new tiered system of alerts. This comes after criticism that the WHO was too slow to declare a COVID emergency.
Tedros The Authoritarian
Critics of Dr. Tedros highlight his involvement in Ethiopia's cholera situation, where the government denied the existence of cholera outbreaks and instead referred to them as "acute watery diarrhea." This secretive and non-transparent approach has been linked to his tenure as a high-ranking official in Ethiopia's authoritarian regime.
Some argue that this history may have led him to accept China's earliest reports on the COVID outbreak without challenging its officials with tough questions.
Dr. Tedros denied allegations of covering up cholera outbreaks in Ethiopia during his term as health minister from 2005 to 2012, calling it a "smear campaign."
“Dr. Tedros is the product of a deeply authoritarian regime,” said Jeffrey Smith, director of Vanguard Africa, a US-based consultancy that lobbies for democracy in Africa. “Dictatorships are bad for public health, both inside their borders and globally, [it was a] highly repressive surveillance state in which a lack of government transparency was a hallmark. And Dr. Tedros played a role in helping construct and maintain that state.”
In 2017, Tedros made history by becoming the first African to lead the global health agency. However, his tenure has been marked by controversies, such as the WHO's decision to appoint Robert Mugabe, the former Zimbabwean dictator, as a "goodwill ambassador," a move that was later criticized by many due to Mugabe's reputation as a tyrant.
We Must Ask A Critical Question
So, the question must be asked – and especially since much of the public relations information coming out of the WHO on the pandemic treaty is pointedly slanted to the positive and without sincere appreciation for the concerns of the treaty’s detractors, should Tedros, a product of an authoritarian Third World regime, even remain at the helm of the globalist health organization?
Make no mistake, the World Health Organization – like the United Nations and the unelected elitists at the World Economic Forum, seeks to diminish and then destroy the national sovereignty of nations.
The sovereignty of nations is critical in the free world because it guarantees people a voice in their government. Once sovereignty is ceded to the globalists, once it is sold for perceived safety, totalitarianism and despotism always follow.
This is why it's important to clearly communicate to our federally elected officials that we don't want any global organization to mandate anything for the United States. If our federal government fails to preserve our freedoms, state-level nullification remains our only hope.
Agree!