COVID-19 Responses Expose Gaps in Global Governance

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs argues that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a crisis of confidence and significant gaps in global governance, particularly regarding the World Health Organization (WHO). The authors call for a total overhaul of global governance principles, increased financial and technical support for the WHO, and a redefinition of international security to include global health threats.

• The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a lack of unified global governance and a crisis of confidence in the institutions meant to lead international cooperation, specifically the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO's effectiveness is limited by the support and capacity granted to it by its member states.
• The United States, the WHO's largest financial contributor with a scheduled 2020 contribution of $115.8 million, decided to withdraw its financial support immediately. This followed allegations that the WHO mismanaged and covered up the spread of the coronavirus, reflecting a broader trend of the U.S. withdrawing from rules-based global frameworks like the Paris Agreement and the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement mechanism.
• The authors suggest that global health should be redefined as a hard security threat, potentially bringing it under the agenda of the UN Security Council to maintain international peace and security. However, they note that developing nations may fear this would expand the veto power of the five permanent members.
• To restore the credibility of global institutions and secure global public goods, the authors propose four immediate measures: enhanced financial coordination from the G7, G20, and IMF; increased technical and financial support for the WHO; greater scientific collaboration on vaccines and drugs; and the removal of trade barriers for medical equipment.
• The WHO requires a mandate expansion to be more proactive in suspected communicable health challenges, enabling independent verification and rapid response missions. This necessitates an increase in fixed contributions from member states, as currently less than 30 percent of the WHO's budget comes from such contributions.

APA

Turianskyi, Y., Gruzd, S., Sidiropoulos, E., & Grobbelaar, N. (n.d.). COVID-19 Responses Expose Gaps in Global Governance. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/COVID-19-Responses-Expose-Gaps-in-Global-Governance_REPORT.pdf

Chicago

Turianskyi, Yarik, Steven Gruzd, Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, and Neuma Grobbelaar. COVID-19 Responses Expose Gaps in Global Governance. South African Institute of International Affairs, n.d. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/COVID-19-Responses-Expose-Gaps-in-Global-Governance_REPORT.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Turianskyi |first1=Yarik |last2=Gruzd |first2=Steven |last3=Sidiropoulos |first3=Elizabeth |last4=Grobbelaar |first4=Neuma |title=COVID-19 Responses Expose Gaps in Global Governance |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/COVID-19-Responses-Expose-Gaps-in-Global-Governance_REPORT.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{turianskyindcovid19, author = {Turianskyi, Yarik and Gruzd, Steven and Sidiropoulos, Elizabeth and Grobbelaar, Neuma}, title = {{COVID-19 Responses Expose Gaps in Global Governance}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/COVID-19-Responses-Expose-Gaps-in-Global-Governance_REPORT.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }