| ID | 109872 |
| Title Proper | Insights into surveillance from the influenza virus and benefit sharing controversy |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Smith, Frank L |
| Publication | 2012. |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | For more than fifty years, the World Health Organization has helped monitor flu viruses and manufacture vaccines through the Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN). However, GISN became a flashpoint for conflict when Indonesia refused to share its samples of avian influenza until drugs and other benefits were shared in return. Years of controversial negotiations were required to agree on a framework for virus and benefit sharing, providing important insights into disease surveillance, global norms, and international law. First, this controversy suggests that surveillance behaves like a luxury good, which complicates the conventional wisdom that it is a global public good. Second, even well-established norms were not immune to challenge, thereby limiting the significance of 'tipping points' and 'normative cascades'. Finally, legal arguments were common in this controversy but equivocal and inconclusive, so international law is unlikely to affect important outcomes relating to outbreak response. |
| `In' analytical Note | Global Change Peace and Security Vol. 24, No.1; Feb 2012: p.71-81 |
| Journal Source | Global Change Peace and Security Vol. 24, No.1; Feb 2012: p.71-81 |
| Key Words | Biosecurity ; Global Norms ; International Law ; Public Goods |