Articles / G20, 2022 Handing Over Global Health Power to the WHA & WHO
The 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit took place in Bali on 15-16 November 2022. The G20 consists of a group of twenty nations with the biggest economies* of the world. Even Klaus Schwab, chairman of the WEF was present.
Created in 1999, its first meeting commenced in 2008. The G20 leaders in Bali confirmed their commitment to aligning the work of the G20 with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure the eradication of poverty, achieve sustainable development and build an inclusive and sustainable future for all. They also agreed to align global health and pandemic preparedness efforts.
At the G20 the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appears to be supporting the unelected WHO to dictate both Australians health choices and Australia's response to future diseases. Working with the World Health Assembly, World Health Organisation, World Bank and World Trade Organisation, the G20 has issued a formal statement promoting vaccine passports as preparation for any future pandemic response in a summary document published by the US White House (Please read it here). Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, speaking on the matter on behalf of the G20 host country, had earlier in the summit called for a “digital health certificate” using WHO standards. They propose to implement certificates for international travel.
This means the WHO will determine when every Australian and any other individual from a WHO member state will need to take a vaccine, treatment or procedure. Changing your rights & freedoms forever. AMN is raising awareness about this significant issue because it will affect every nation in the world, please read AMN's press release and briefing paper here.
The major topics discussed at the G20 summit under the theme Recover Together, Recover Stronger included;
- The war in Ukraine, but there was no mention of the wars in Yemen, Syria, Myanmar, Ethiopia and the other 60 conflicts occurring.
- Macroeconomic policy, price stability, financial resilience, supply chains, investments with developing nations, growth and green transitions.
- Food security and digital innovation in agriculture and food systems
- A global tax system and the swift implementation of the OECD/G20 two-pillar international tax package, with further progress to made on the Pillar One tax system.
- The current energy crises and shortage/disruptions to energy supply. The G20 are committed to tackling climate change by fully implementing the Paris Agreement and its temperature goal. In addition, the leaders will urge all parties and countries to finalize and adopt the Global Biodiversity Framework GBF with the view of realizing the 2050 Vision of “Living in harmony with Nature” at the second part of COP15 CBD as a strong framework of action and accountability for halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.
On Matters Concerning Health
- The G20 will promote recovery which builds towards achieving and sustaining Universal Health Coverage under the SDGs. Working with the World Health Organization (WHO) they will reinforce the continuing international health threats and come together to collectively strengthen their response capabilities.
- The G20 emphasized the need for equitable access to pandemic medical countermeasures, and welcomes the efforts of the Global Funds, ACT-A (Which has four components, a Diagnostics Pillar, Health Systems & Response Connector and the Therapeutics Pillar). The G20 reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening global health governance, with the leading and coordination role of WHO and support from other international organisations. The leaders support the work of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) that will draft and negotiate a LEGALLY BINDING instrument that should contain both legally binding and non-legally binding elements to strengthen pandemic PPR and the working group on the International Health Regulations that will consider amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) mindful that the decision will be made by the World Health Assembly.
- The G20 High Level Independent Panel, as well as the WHO and World Bank have estimated there is an annual pandemic PPR financing gap of approximately USD 10 billion. They welcome the establishment of a new Financial Intermediary Fund for Pandemic PPR (the ‘Pandemic Fund’) hosted by the World Bank. It aims to address critical pandemic PPR gaps and build capacity at national, regional and global levels, bring additionality in financial resources for pandemic PPR, catalyze complementary investments, and facilitate a coordinated and coherent approach to pandemic PPR strengthening. They welcome the Pandemic Fund’s inclusive membership and representation from low- and middle-income countries, civil society organizations and donors, and acknowledge the WHO’s technical expertise and central coordination role in this endeavor, which reflects its leadership role in the global health architecture. The G20 appreciates the work of the Secretariat hosted by the World Bank, with the WHO as technical lead and as chair of the Technical Advisory Panel. Pledges by current donors, are over USD 1.4 billion, and they encourage additional voluntary pledges.
- A Task Force has been established and in 2023 the Task Force will continue developing coordination arrangements between Finance and Health Ministries, and share best practices and experiences from past finance-health coordination in order to develop joint responses to pandemics, as appropriate. The Task Force will undertake work to better understand economic risks and vulnerabilities from pandemics, and how to mitigate them, with a focus on finance and health coordination in response to new pandemics, considering country-specific circumstances and recognizing the importance of further work on resource mobilization. We ask the Task Force to report back to Finance and Health Ministers in 2023 on its progress.
- The G20 leaders see COVID-19 immunization as a global public good and will advance their effort to ensure timely, equitable and universal access to safe, affordable, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics (VTDs). Acknowledging the adoption of the Ministerial Declaration on the WTO Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic and Preparedness for Future Pandemics and the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement at the WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), they note that, no later than six months from the date of the Ministerial Decision on the TRIPS Agreement, WTO members will decide on its extension to cover the production and supply of COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. They remain committed to embedding a multisectoral One Health approach and enhancing global surveillance, including genomic surveillance, in order to detect pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) that may threaten human health. To enable global pathogen surveillance as part of their commitment to implement the IHR (2005), the G20 leaders encourages sharing of pathogen data in a timely manner on shared and trusted platforms in collaboration with WHO. They also encourage sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of pathogens consistent with applicable national laws.
- The G20 leaders are also committed to strengthening local and regional health product manufacturing capacities and facilitate better access to VTDs globally, especially in developing countries, and underscore the importance of public-private partnership, and technology transfer and knowledge sharing on voluntary and mutually agreed terms. They support the WHO's mRNA Vaccine Technology Transfer hub. Under the IHR (2005) framework they will facilitate seamless international travel, interoperability, and recognizing digital solutions and non-digital solutions, including proof of vaccinations. They will support continued international dialogue and collaboration on the establishment of trusted global digital health networks as part of the efforts to strengthen prevention and response to future pandemics, that should capitalize and build on the success of the existing standards and digital COVID-19 certificates.
On the Digital Economy
- The G20 leaders recognize the importance of digital transformation in reaching the SDGs. They believe that affordable and high-quality digital connectivity is essential for digital inclusion and digital transformation, while a resilient, safe and secure online environment is necessary to enhance confidence and trust in the digital economy. They recognize the importance of policies to create an enabling, inclusive, open, fair and non-discriminatory digital economy that fosters the application of new technologies, allows businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive, and protects and empowers consumers, while addressing the challenges, related to digital divides, privacy, data protection, intellectual property rights, and online safety. They will counter disinformation campaigns, cyber threats, online abuse, and ensuring security in connectivity infrastructure. They want to advance a more inclusive, human-centric, empowering, and sustainable digital transformation.
Summing It All Up
These decisions are based on discussions and consensus which culminate in the form of declarations. These declarations are not legally binding. The G20 is an advisory or consultative group of 20 members. The G20 is not a panacea for either Australia's or the world's problems.
Write and phone your Prime Minister, President, Premier and Federal Member to oppose the WHO Pandemic Treaty and other foreign unelected organizations from meddling and attempting to take away our health and human rights.