ABSTRACT
On December 31, 2019, the World Health Organization’s China Country Office was informed of pneumonia cases of unknown etiology in Wuhan City. Thereafter, never since World War II has humanity faced a global challenge like the COVID-19 pandemic, especially for patients, healthcare professionals, and society. The pandemic has had a paradoxical effect on most countries. The need to protect human rights was emphasized, namely the right to access healthcare, nondiscrimination, and protection of privacy. However, since this is a serious public health problem, restrictive measures on human rights were implemented in the collective interest, from a utilitarian perspective of pursuing public interest to a) flatten the pandemic curve, and therefore, reducing pressures on the healthcare system, and b) achieve robust community protection from COVID-19.
While health is a very personal experience, it is also a global phenomenon as this pandemic with important global health repercussions shows. This chapter suggests the need for robust healthcare systems to face the pandemic. It contributes to the growing awareness for providing true global public goods, such as health, health education, and universal access to COVID-19 vaccination. Further, legally binding instruments are proposed to accomplish this goal, that is, approving of an International Convention for Pandemics.
