January 18, 2023

Wilson Center + ONI Logos

WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its fourth year, the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program and the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University Law Center launched a new website today to address the changing paradigms in international health law and the critical need for strengthening global health security for the future.

This dynamic website, International Cooperation for Pandemic Preparedness, features renowned international health experts who break down eight critical issues the pandemic exacerbated, revealed, or created. Through video interviews and written analyses, the interactive examines what can happen at the international level when countries and international organizations work together to find needed solutions. In light of heightened demands for a pandemic treaty under the World Health Organization, expert advice on what is achievable at the international level has never been more critical to combating future COVID-19 variants and future pandemics.

“Working with the O’Neill Institute emphasizes the Wilson Center’s commitment to addressing global challenges through prestigious scholarship and dialogue,” Alex Long, senior program associate of the Wilson Center’s Science and Technology Innovation Program, said. “I’m proud to bring these issues of reforming international health law to the Wilson Center’s foreign policy community now that the geopolitical implications of pandemic response are clear and urgent.”

“This partnership between the O’Neill Institute and the Wilson Center shows what is possible when two institutions — committed to evidence-based decision-making and informed public discourse — work together to address critical global health challenges,” said Sam Halabi, senior scholar at the O’Neill Institute. “We believe this website will be a valuable resource to legislators, regulators, and the public.”

“We’re excited to partner with the Wilson Center to launch this interactive,” added Katherine Ginsbach, senior associate with the Center for Transformational Health Law at the O’Neill Institute. “This resource takes technical knowledge and puts it in social context to better understand what we should be building on for future pandemic preparedness.

Visit the website here.

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For further comment or to schedule an interview, please contact:

The Wilson Center: Ryan McKenna, Ryan.McKenna@wilsoncenter.org

O’Neill Institute: Cynthia Sun, Cynthia.Sun@georgetown.edu