Dear Sir or Madam, dear customers, friends, and acquaintances,
The Bundestag intends to grant the WHO more funding and authority: On May 12, 2023, 497 members of parliament (out of 736) voted in favor of the motion dated May 9, 2023, “75 Years of the WHO – Strengthening and Reforming the World Health Organization” (Bundestag Document 20/6712). In it, the German Bundestag called on the Federal Government, within the limits of available budgetary resources, to
- “(…) 1. to strive to actively support raising mandatory contributions to 50 percent of the WHO’s core budget by 2030/2031 at the latest, (…)”
- “(…) 2. to promote and support reforms of the WHO in order to strengthen its governance, efficiency, independence, capacity, accountability, and ability to enforce rules, (…)”
- “(…) 4. to actively participate in the drafting of a pandemic agreement or instrument, as well as in the reform of the International Health Regulations, and to work toward ensuring that the WHO plays a central role in the areas of pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response. (…)”
- “(…) 7. to work toward ensuring that the WHO’s efforts to prevent, prepare for, and respond to the health impacts of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss—using the One Health approach—receive adequate support, and that the WHO’s mandate in this regard is strengthened. (…)”
The full text is published at https://dserver.bundestag.de/btd/20/067/2006712.pdf (20% of MEPs were absent during this vote, and only 68 voted against it).
More money for the WHO, strengthening “governance” and “enforcement capacity” in a “central role,” and a “One Health approach”: These words trouble me, and yes, quite frankly, they scare me. I remember the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rollout of mRNA vaccines, the mask mandates, and the lockdowns. I remember how critics of the measures were treated, how people who refused to get vaccinated were treated—at work, while shopping, and on public transportation. And I remember how quickly a great many new laws were enacted. Yet a fundamental right to freedom from mandatory vaccination has not yet been established.
And it was all expensive, too. Recent news reports indicate that the European Public Prosecutor’s Office is investigating the EU’s purchase of vaccines worth €35 billion. “A complete lack of transparency and accountability,” read the headline in *Die Welt* on October 22, 2022 (https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/plus241736365/Impfstoff-Deal-von-der-Leyens-Voelliger-Mangel-an-Transparenz-und-Verantwortlichkeit.html). And in Germany, too many vaccines were ordered, and vaccines worth several billion euros may soon have to be destroyed (see Tagesschau from January 26, 2023, https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/ndr-wdr/corona-impfstoff-kosten-101.html).
And on March 16, 2023, the Federal Cabinet decided to conclude new contracts for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines for the coming years through 2029 (https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/presse/pressemitteilungen/vertraege-fuer-impfstoffversorgung.html).
Who’s paying for all of this? Do you still have faith in politics? None of us has democratically elected the WHO. I have no confidence that the WHO will protect our human rights. Instead, I’m afraid that the WHO could ultimately be given the power to mandate “universal vaccination” for everyone. It frightens me that the government could lose the ability to ban, for example, genetically harmful substances or nanoparticles in the environment, in vaccines, or in food and drinking water.
I therefore disagree with the Bundestag’s resolution to strengthen and reform the World Health Organization. I would prefer it if the WHO had less money and less power. Do you feel the same way?
Educate yourself thoroughly and share your knowledge with everyone around you. We must prevent “more WHO” not only for ourselves but also for all future generations. Take a stand against the concentration of power within the WHO!
With this in mind... Hubert
Maria Dietrich