The Prime Minister recently spoke at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Second Global Covid Virtual Summit, where he underlined WHO Reforms.
This year, the Indian government has stressed the need for WHO reform at multilateral forums such as the G20 and BRICS (2021-22). India’s proposals for WHO reforms have been backed by governments all over the world, especially after the body’s first handling of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Strengthening the process for declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC):
For PHEIC to be declared, objective criteria with specific parameters must be developed.
The emphasis in the declaration procedure must be on transparency and promptness.
A PHEIC is defined as a scenario that is serious, abrupt, unusual, or unexpected; has public health ramifications beyond the affected State’s national border; and may necessitate prompt international response.
The majority of WHO Programmatic Activities funding comes from extra budgetary contributions, which are generally designated despite being voluntary. The WHO has very little control over how these money are spent.
Extra budgetary or voluntary contributions must be left unallocated so that the WHO has the option to use them where they are most needed.
There is also a need to consider boosting the WHO’s regular budget so that it can fund the majority of the WHO’s core functions without putting an undue financial strain on developing countries.
There is no collaborative mechanism in place where actual projects and activities are decided in consultation with member states; there is also no review of value for money and whether projects are being completed in accordance with member states’ priorities or if there are unusual delays.
Financial integrity can be maintained by establishing strong and rigorous financial accountability structures.
For greater accountability, it is also critical to have a high level of transparency in data reporting and fund disbursement.
The implementation of the IHR 2005 has revealed serious inadequacies in member states’ fundamental health infrastructure. This is especially visible in their response to the COVID 19 outbreak.
It is critical that the WHO’s programmatic actions under its General Programme of Work focus on establishing and enhancing capacities in member states as required under IHR 2005, which are deemed to be insufficient or deficient based on the Member States’ self-reporting on IHR 2005.
Because WHO is a technical organisation, the majority of its work is done through Technical Committees made up of independent experts. Furthermore, given the rising dangers connected with disease outbreaks, the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee (IOAC), which is responsible for the WHO Health Emergencies Programme (WHE), plays an increasingly important role.
It is critical that the member states have a bigger say in how the That operates, because it is the States who are responsible for putting the WHO’s technical advice and recommendations into action.
To guarantee effective oversight by member states, certain procedures such as a Standing Committee of the Executive Board are required.
Under the IHR (International Health Regulations) 2005, Member States are required to self-report. However, reviewing IHR implementation is entirely optional.
IHR (2005) is a legally binding international agreement including 196 countries from all around the world, including all WHO Member States.
Their mission is to assist the international community in preventing and responding to severe public health threats that endanger people all over the world.
The IHR implementation review should continue to be done on a voluntary basis.
Enhancing international cooperation, which should be oriented at assisting poor nations in areas where they have been identified as lacking the capacity to implement the IHR, is vital.
It has been suggested that the TRIPS flexibilities for public health offered by the Doha Declaration may not be sufficient to deal with pandemics like the Covid-19 pandemic.
It is critical to enable fair, inexpensive, and equitable access to all tools needed to combat the Covid-19 pandemic, necessitating the creation of a framework for their distribution.
A monitoring mechanism and support for member states on International Health Regulations, infrastructure readiness, human resources, and relevant health system capacities such as testing and surveillance systems are all required.
Enhancing countries’ capacity to prepare for and respond to infectious illnesses with pandemic potential, including recommendations on effective public health and economic measures for health emergencies, using a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses social science as well as health and natural sciences.
The dangers that novel influenza viruses pose to humanity by triggering greater illness outbreaks are extremely real.
The international community must act quickly to solve this problem by making strong steps and ensuring that our healthcare systems are vigilant and prepared.
The major goal should be to improve global pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response capabilities, as well as to boost our ability to combat future pandemics.
Finland and Sweden have recently expressed interest in joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Finland has avoided such partnerships since it has always wished to preserve friendly relations with its neighbour, Russia.
For a long time, the Finns’ refusal to join NATO or get too close to the West was a matter of survival.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however, there was a shift in perspective and overwhelming support for joining NATO.
Sweden has been resistant to joining the organisation for ideological reasons, unlike Finland, whose policy stance was a question of survival.
NATO membership provides security guarantees under “Article 5” of the alliance’s collective defence treaty.
If any NATO member is attacked, the clause basically assures a military reaction and protection by NATO members.
Strengthen the Alliance’s Posture: Finland’s geographic location works in its favour because if it joins, the length of Russia’s border with NATO will double, and the alliance’s position in the Baltic Sea will be strengthened.
More sovereign states standing with the west and expanding its strength is a direct blow to Russia’s aggression.
If Sweden and Finland join NATO, it will “demonstrate Russia that the war is unproductive and only enhances Western solidarity, resolve, and military preparedness.”
Russia has threatened to take military action if the membership is approved, and Finland has been warned of the potential implications.
The decision has been hailed by European nations and the United States.
Norway and Denmark have stated that they will push for NATO membership sooner rather than later.
The US declared that it is ready to provide any required defence support or address any concerns until the membership is formally recognised.
opposes the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO.
The Turkish government stated that its participation in the Western alliance would allow it to veto any attempts to admit the two countries.
Turkey has accused Sweden and other Scandinavian countries of sponsoring Kurdish insurgents and other terrorist organisations.
The North Atlantic Treaty (also known as the Washington Treaty) of April 1949 established a military alliance between the United States, Canada, and several Western European states to offer collective protection against the Soviet Union.
Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States were the founding members.
Greece and Turkey (1952), West Germany (1955, renamed Germany in 1990), Spain (1982), the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland (1999), Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia (2004), Albania and Croatia (2009), Montenegro (2017), and North Macedonia (2018) joined the original signatories (2020).
In 1966, France withdrew from NATO’s integrated military command but remained a member of the organisation; it rejoined the military command in 2009.
NATO’s primary and long-term goal is to protect all of its members’ freedom and security by political and military methods.
NATO’s political goals are to promote democratic values and to enable members to consult and collaborate on defence and security issues in order to solve problems, establish trust, and, in the long run, avoid conflict.
NATO’s military objectives include the peaceful resolution of disputes. It has the military power to conduct crisis-management operations if diplomatic attempts fail.
These are carried out, either alone or in concert with other countries and international organisations, under the collective defence provision of NATO’s founding treaty, Article 5 of the Washington Treaty, or under a United Nations mandate.
NATO has only used Article 5 once, on September 12, 2001, in response to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York.
As Finland joins NATO, Russia may want to deploy additional troops along the Russian-Finnish border, further thinning out the Russian army.
Finland and Russia share a 1,300-kilometer border, and Russia’s activities against Finland’s (and maybe Sweden’s) NATO membership could be greatly influenced by the deployment of military assets along the border on the Finnish (and possibly Swedish) side.
The Finns may choose not to deploy assets immediately, preferring instead to use their NATO membership as a statement to Russia, but if they continue to feel threatened, they may choose to deploy extensive assets.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently told a parliamentary committee that cryptocurrencies might lead to the “dollarization” of a portion of the economy, which would be detrimental to India’s sovereignty.
Dollarisation is a type of currency replacement in which dollars are used alongside or instead of a country’s native currency.
Though only tax havens like Liberia and Panama can truly be described as “dollarized,” many economies are dollarized to some extent.
In fact, two-thirds of dollars are held outside of the country that issued them.
Countries that have experienced hyperinflation, such as Bolivia, have become dollarised as well, with the dollar accounting for over 80% of the currency in circulation.
The dollar’s leading position in the global economy gives the United States disproportionate power over other economies. Sanctions have long been a strategy employed by the US to attain foreign policy objectives.
De-dollarisation is motivated by a desire to protect national central banks from geopolitical hazards in which the US dollar’s status as a reserve currency can be used as an aggressive weapon.
Central banks in high-dollarized economies devolve into powerless bodies.
Cryptocurrencies have the potential to become a means of exchange and to replace the rupee in domestic and cross-border financial activities.
This is one of the reasons why the RBI is opposed to it, and the Indian finance ministry has backed them up by levying a 30% crypto tax without formally ‘allowing’ it in India.
This action was made to prevent Indian rupees from rising to the point where they may be used to buy virtual assets owned by foreign corporations that could not be tracked by tax officials in India.
Individuals who mine cryptocurrency to earn money are exempt from the tax, but only those who purchase or sell cryptocurrency with Indian rupees are.
Cryptos, in addition to being used for terror financing, money laundering, and drug trafficking, pose a greater threat to the country’s financial system’s stability.
Negative Impact on the Banking System: Because these are attractive assets, people may invest their hard-earned funds in these currencies, resulting in banks having fewer resources to lend.
India has an estimated 15 million to 20 million crypto investors, with a total crypto market capitalization of USD 5.34 billion.
Because no other currency is liquid enough, the US dollar remains the preferred currency for commerce. Even if a currency succeeds, nations will be concerned that it will become a carbon copy of the US dollar.
The globe does not desire a simple change of regime coupled with the same manipulations perpetrated by a different country. The only path forward is for the currency market to be more diverse, with no single currency claiming primacy.
Interpol’s Match-Fixing Task Force (IMFTF) ended its 12th meeting with a request for unified worldwide efforts to combat competition manipulation and the formation of national platforms, as stipulated in the Macolin Convention.
It was the first big event organised under the auspices of the Financial Crime and Anti-Corruption Centre, which was recently established (IFCACC).
The Council of Europe Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions is also known as the Macolin Convention.
In 2011, INTERPOL established the Match-Fixing Task Force (IMFTF).
It brings together law enforcement agencies from all over the world to combat match rigging and sports corruption.
It serves as a venue for investigations and worldwide case coordination, focusing on sharing experiences and best practises.
It has 100 member units and more than 150 national points of contact around the world.
The IMFTF includes the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Tools – INTERPOL has created specific tools for law enforcement around the world that are dedicated to data collecting on sport corruption (project ETICA) and financial crime analysis (FINCAF).
RNA granules are structures made up of messenger RNA (mRNA) and proteins found in the cytoplasm of a cell.
RNA granules, unlike other cell components (such as mitochondria), are not covered and contained by a membrane.
This makes them highly dynamic in nature, allowing them to interchange components with the environment on a regular basis.
RNA granules are found in the cytoplasm in small numbers under normal conditions.
However, under stressful conditions, such as sickness, they expand in number and size.
Stretches – The existence of stretches including repeats of particular amino acids is a distinguishing property of the RNA granule protein components that does not vary from one organism to the next.
Low complexity regions are what these sections are called.
RGG, or repeats of arginine (R), glycine (G), and glycine (G), is an example of a low complexity sequence.
Protein synthesis – The process of translation converts mRNAs into proteins (cell building blocks).
RNA granules control the fate of mRNA by determining when and how much protein is generated from it.
Protein synthesis is a time-consuming, multi-step process.
When cells are confronted with adverse conditions, one frequent technique is to shut down protein production and conserve energy in order to deal with the stressful environment.
RNA granules aid in the process of protein production shutdown.
Some RNA granule types (such as Processing bodies or P-bodies) regulate protein creation while also degrading and eliminating mRNAs, which aids in protein reduction.
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