Editing Implications of the Pandemic, Part 2 (section)

==== Health Policy ====
When it comes to health policy, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, certainly not any generic or universal methodology. As observed at the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, different countries must employ differing measures to control the spread of disease, prevent new cases, and treat existing cases using existing healthcare infrastructure. Important considerations are, for instance, the ratio of doctors/healthcare workers in comparison with the population, the median age of the population, the prevalence and communicability of the particular disease, accessibility to healthcare, economic status of the government, etc. These metrics vary extremely widely from country to country, and therefore, any health policy framed cannot be universal. Certainly, when it came to India, though over a billion strong, mortality rates were relatively low during the COVID pandemic, due to various regional factors. Thus, governments must preserve their flexibility to act in accordance with the specific crisis at hand in order to assure effectiveness, and any treaty being framed with respect to health policy must necessarily reflect the same. Handing over the powers to make health-related decisions to an international organization does not appear to be in the best interest of sovereign nations, especially given that the treaty shall effectively confer powers onto the WHO to self-authorize to not only declare health emergencies of international concern but also sustain the state of crisis for as long as deemed necessary, and importantly, to make legally binding recommendations and monitor and survey the states and the populace alike during the period. Rules framed by the WHO under the newly conferred powers could take the form of mandatory screening, medical procedures, vaccine/treatment mandates, forced isolation and quarantine. While recommendations are generally considered “soft law”, non-compliance can often invite a host of consequences, including, presumably sanctions of various sorts, disruptions in supply chains, and the cutting off of financial and/or other types of aid. Citizens are left with no recourse once this irreversible tide has been brought on.