European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

The 2019 coronavirus pandemic disease (COVID-19), the emergent, re-emerging and abandoned infectous diseases and bioterrorism, which pose a danger to the protection of health, indicate the need and relevance of pandemic research. Without international collaboration the prevention of pandemics is unlikely because of their transboundary nature; and in the pandemic planning and reaction, the intergovernmental organisations1. The WHO is the only source of legally binding international pandemic response laws, which are growing and providing the states with technical assistance and uniform guidance. The basis for successful pandemic prevention and surveillance is strong national health systems, and improving them is important especially in low-income countries. The international pandemic response mechanisms are currently being developed and a complex process is underway. The challenge for this structure is to guarantee the presence and operation of supranational legal authority. During the Ebola outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO's jurisdiction and capabilities for international replies have been debated. The disasters have also shown that the WHO needs tools to avoid and respond effectively to pandemics. At the same time, there has been a rise in the position of new pandemic management players such as the World Bank Community, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Medicines without Frontiers and other organisations. The assistance to the poorest countries to build health care programmes and to ensure that their people have access to basic healthcare facilities are a key concern in international attempts to avoid and monitor pandemics2.