Biden administration launches “global health security strategy” | COVID-19 | United States | Joe Biden

Article translated and adapted from English, originally published by the American headquarters of the Epoch Times.

The Biden administration is launching a new international strategy called the “Global Health Security Strategy” on April 16 to combat the next global pandemic, according to senior administration officials.

Building on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, a senior administration official said this new strategy has already secured a partnership of 50 countries, with the possibility of reaching 100 by the end of the year with help from other countries in the G7. It is estimated that it will cost around US$30 billion per year.

“The United States, together with its international partners, will enhance the prevention, detection, preparedness for, and response to infectious disease threats, whether of natural, accidental, or deliberate origin, across all sectors, both at home and abroad, to that our collective efforts are more efficient, effective, sustainable and equitable,” the strategy statement says.

The strategy sets the course of U.S. actions over the next five years, President Joe Biden said in a statement. It builds on the administration’s work over the past three years, including the Pandemic Fund, which created an international body that raised $2 billion from 27 different contributors. Contributors included countries, foundations and philanthropies.

The strategy has three goals: strengthen health security through bilateral partnerships with other countries, catalyze the political commitment and financing needed to achieve global health security, and maximize the impact of U.S. government investments in health security and complementary programs.

A senior administration official stated that each participating nation had several gaps in its “ability to prevent attacks or respond to biological threats,” which need to be addressed to achieve these goals. These gaps, the official said, ranged from laboratory capacity to surveillance and preparedness to communicate information about an outbreak.

The administration is also launching a special website on April 16 to support the strategy. It will reveal the 50 countries that the United States is already supporting through the strategy and highlight where the need for progress is most evident. Users will be able to easily see where U.S. investments are being made to help close these gaps.

The senior administration official said the countries were selected for several reasons, including the need to have a U.S. presence in the nation, political will and already established political partnerships. Most bilateral support will go through the United States Agency for International Development and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The senior administration official emphasized that economic security is linked to health security, mitigating the impact of a global health crisis on trade and travel, as COVID-19 has demonstrated.

The official also clarified that this strategy is separate from the World Health Organization pandemic treaty currently being negotiated and said the administration views these negotiations as a way to advance the same goals of advancing global health security.

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