Virtual MUN 2020 will simulate a session of the World Health Assembly, the main decision making body of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The COVID-19 crisis exposed deep gaps in the global governance of pandemics.

The last two major public health emergencies, the SARS outbreak in 2003 and the Ebola outbreak in 2014 have led to changes in the international regimes governing global health. This especially applies to the reform of the International Health Regulation (IHR).

However, as the COVID-19 crisis has ruthlessly exposed, it was not possible to contain the virus in China. The consequence was a rapid worldwide spread causing the deaths of thousands of citizens and an economic loss of up to 2.7 trillion $.

To ensure that the WHO will possess the necessary competences and financial means to prevent a disaster like the one we are currently experiencing, major changes and improvements have to be undertaken.

Will the Committee achieve those necessary changes or are we going to experience another deadly and costly pandemic in the near future? A question delegates will answer on the 16th and 17th of May 2020.