Abstract
Indonesia's decision to withhold samples of avian influenza virus A (H5N1) from the World Health Organization for much of 2007 caused a crisis in global health. The World Health Assembly produced a resolution to try to address the crisis at its May 2007 meeting. I examine how the parties to this controversy used international law in framing and negotiating the dispute. Specifically, I analyze Indonesia's use of the international legal principle of sovereignty and its appeal to rules on the protection of biological and genetic resources found in the Convention on Biological Diversity. In addition, I consider how the International Health Regulations 2005 applied to the controversy. The incident involving Indonesia's actions with virus samples illustrates both the importance and the limitations of international law in global health diplomacy.
Highlights
Indonesia’s decision to withhold samples of avian influenza virus A (H5N1) from the World Health Organization for much of 2007 caused a crisis in global health
World Health Organization (WHO)’s acknowledgment that patents had been sought on modified versions of influenza (H5N1) samples shared through the Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN) without the consent of the countries that supplied the samples reinforced Indonesia’s discontent
Important are the requests for the directorgeneral to convene a) a working group to review, and propose reforms for, the sharing of influenza viruses and their use within and outside GISN; and b) an intergovernmental working group to consider progress being made toward the resolution’s goals, especially fair and equitable access to influenza vaccine for developing countries. These requests ensure that the linkage between virus sample sharing and equitable access to influenza vaccine remains prominent on the global health agenda for the foreseeable future
Summary
Indonesia’s decision to withhold samples of avian influenza virus A (H5N1) from the World Health Organization for much of 2007 caused a crisis in global health. Important are the requests for the directorgeneral to convene a) a working group to review, and propose reforms for, the sharing of influenza viruses and their use within and outside GISN; and b) an intergovernmental working group to consider progress being made toward the resolution’s goals, especially fair and equitable access to influenza vaccine for developing countries. These requests ensure that the linkage between virus sample sharing and equitable access to influenza vaccine remains prominent on the global health agenda for the foreseeable future. GISN has, functioned without much, if any, reference to international law, making it difficult to establish that countries shared samples with WHO because they felt legally obligated to do so
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