India has joined a total of 61 countries to support a joint resolution drafted by European Union (EU) and Australia calling for an ‘impartial’ evaluation of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) response to the coronavirus pandemic.
As per reports, the draft resolution has been presented to the World Health Assembly (WHA) which will take up the issue of ‘Covid-19 Response’ during the two-day meet, starting Monday.
A total of 62 countries including India called for an ‘impartial, independent and comprehensive’ probe into the coronavirus crisis.
The draft resolution also sought an inquiry into WHO’s response in tackling the coronavirus pandemic.
“Initiate, at the earliest appropriate moment, and in consultation with member States, a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation, including using existing mechanisms, as appropriate, to review experience gained and lessons learned from the WHO-coordinated international health response to COVID-19,” the resolution reads.
The document also asks for an evaluation the effectiveness of the mechanisms at WHO’s disposal and the actions of WHO and their timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic among other demands.
It also asks the WHO to work closely with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and countries, as part of the One-Health Approach to identify the zoonotic source of the virus and the route of introduction to the human population.
This is the first time India has articulated its stand at a global level on the pandemic that started from China’s Wuhan in December last year.