Professor Lawrence Gostin: Lecture on the Pandemic Agreement and the Rights to Health
Figure 1: From left: Pei Kan Yang, Professor, Department of International Business, National Chenchi University; Han-Hsi Liu, Assistant Professor, Institute National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Institute of Hospital and Health Care Administration; Yi-Chin Wu, Manager, Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan; Chin-Shui Shih, Director, Office of International Cooperation, Ministry of Health and Welfare; Kun-Hsien Tsai, Associate Dean, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University; Jen-Hsiang Chuang, Director General, Taiwan Centers for Disease Control; Lawrence Gostin, Distinguished Professor, Georgetown University; Ching-Yi Lin, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health and Welfare; Shan-Chwen Chang, Executive Vice President, National Taiwan University; Shih-Chia Lin, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan; Wan-Tsui Chang, Associate Professor, Department of Law, National Cheng Kung University; Chao-Tien Chiang, Associate Professor, Graduate Institute of National Development, National Taiwan University
Figures 2 (Above) and 3 (Below): Lawrence Gostin, Distinguished Professor, Georgetown University and professional summary
Figure 4: Ching-Yi Lin, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Health and Welfare delivering opening remarks
Figure 5: Shih-Chia Lin, Chief Executive Officer, Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan delivering opening remarks
Figure 6: Kun-Hsien Tsai, Associate Dean, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University as event moderator
On March 30, 2025, the National Taiwan University College of Public Health and the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan invited Professor Lawrence Gostin to deliver his Lecture on the Pandemic Agreement and the Rights to Health. Associate Dean of the College of Public Health and Director of the Global Health Program Kun-Hsien Tsai kicked off the event by inviting attendees to first think about the current challenges and opportunities within the field of global health governance.
Following Professor Tsai’s opening remarks, Professor Gostin offered insights into the evolving landscape of international pandemic governance. A distinguished scholar in the field of global health law and human rights, he discussed key legal and institutional provisions currently under debate for inclusion in the proposed International Treaty for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (Pandemic Treaty), as well as for future revisions of the International Health Regulations (IHR).
Gostin highlighted that the success of national COVID-19 responses was closely related to “public trust.” Places such as Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea with high levels of trust in public and governmental institutions saw greater success in controlling COVID-19 outbreaks. Conversely, countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, where public trust was lower, struggled to manage and sustain effective responses. This observation is emphasized as an important factor for global health governance in the latest draft of the Pandemic Treaty.
On pandemic prevention, Gostin emphasized the concept of “deep prevention” which highlights the importance of preventing pandemics from emerging at the source. The concept of “deep prevention” works in line with the One Health principle, which advocates for an interdisciplinary and multisectoral approach that integrates human, plant, and animal health to create a framework for preventing infectious disease outbreaks. This stands in contrast to the current revision of the IHR which focuses on actions taken following an outbreak to mitigate the spread of illness. Gostin emphasizes the need to further address the institutional and environmental factors that cause epidemics.
In addition, Gostin also analyzed several key issues that remain under discussion in international agreements regarding public health, including:
1. The difficulty of low- and middle-income countries to acquire the necessary resources to implement One Health policies;
2. Establishing a fair and sustainable funding mechanism while addressing high-income countries’ concerns regarding the “Common but Differentiated Responsibilities”;
3. The importance of establishing international agreement on the Pathogen Acquisition and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system;
4. Developing a system for knowledge transfer and technology sharing, while also recognizing the limitations to such a philanthropic model.
Gostin strongly advocated for the “right to health” to be the core foundation of any international agreement or framework on health. However, he lamented that in multilateral negotiations, references to the right to health are often weakened or omitted altogether. This suggests that human rights considerations are still insufficiently embedded in global health governance frameworks. In many cases, the right to health is replaced by more generalized language around equity in health.
Regarding regional governance, Gostin also emphasized the need for further collaboration between the African Union and the Africa Centres for Disease Control (CDC) with the WHO Regional Office for Africa (WHO-AFRO) to create a regional network and system for disease prevention and epidemic control. In the face of the United States withdrawing from the WHO, this would give regional offices the legal authority and financial resources to oversee and lead their own disease prevention and outbreak responses.
Overall, Professor Gostin’s lecture offered valuable insights into the current status of negotiations regarding the Pandemic Treaty as well as the legal and practical challenges to developing and implementing international health agreements. The event inspired attendees to continue fostering cross-sectoral collaboration. The College of Public Health will continue to focus on the development of global health governance measures, actively participate in related talks and the dissemination of knowledge, and continue to foster deeper relationships between the academic community and policymakers.
Figure 7: Group photo of the invited guest speaker and attendees
Figure 8: Associate Dean of the College Kun-Hsien Tsai and Professor Gostin following the lecture
Figure 9: Dr. Kuan-Yu Chiang, Division of Integrative Medicine, Taipei City Hospital Zhongxing Branch (Left), Lawrence Gostin, Distinguished Professor, Georgetown University (Center); Po-Han Lee, Associate Director, Global Health Program, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University (Right)