Agence France-Presse: WHO to study use of sanctions as part of global epidemic response
“The World Health Organization said Tuesday it will study the idea of using sanctions to punish countries that do not comply with global health regulations, following widespread failures in the response to the Ebola outbreak. The WHO has created a committee to review the fiercely criticized global reaction to the Ebola epidemic, including why so many countries seemingly disregarded the International Health Regulations (IHR) agreed a decade ago by 194 member states…” (8/25).

CIDRAP News: WHO Ebola IHR review committee outlines next steps
“…Over the course of the meeting the group divided the [International Health Regulations] review among three working groups that will address three main issues: defining IHR principles and the flow of information between the WHO and individual countries, assessing IHR core capacities for countries (i.e., epidemiology, surveillance, and lab capabilities), and IHR compliance and governance…” (Schnirring, 8/25).

POLITICO: Global health rules need teeth: Ebola panel chief
“…The French surgery professor Didier Houssin, appointed on Monday as the chair of [the] WHO review committee, said that the [IHR] law needed an enforcement mechanism. He suggested a carrot-and-stick approach. Poor countries should be given financial incentives to implement the regulations. He also floated the idea of potential sanctions, such as those existing in international regulations on nuclear issues…” (Paun, 8/26).