With Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) negotiating new agreements to centralize management of pandemics with an annual budget of over $31.5 billion, it would be reasonable to assume that everyone was clear on what a pandemic actually is. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Although countries will be voting in two months on a new Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) to grant the WHO wide authority over pandemic management, there is no universally-agreed definition of “pandemic.” What degree of severity is required? How widespread must it be? What proportion of the population must be at risk?
An outbreak of common cold crossing borders fits many pandemic definitions, as does a repeat of the medieval Black Death. International agreements are normally formed around a definable problem, but the world is about to invest tens of billions without a solid basis to predict costs and benefits. In other words, there is no clear agreement on what the World Health Assembly is actually agreeing to.
Hellbound and Down 