Evaluating International Health and Education Law: Inequality During COVID-19
Juwon Kim — Seoul Academy, 422 Yeoksam-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul 06200, Republic of Korea
Hyunjun An — Asia Pacific International School, Wolgye-ro 45ga-gil, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01874, Republic of Korea
Abstract
The COVID -19 crisis revealed larger gaps between inequalities for the access of essential resources, especially vaccines and education, between developing and developed countries. This research paper hopes to examine whether the current international legal law under organizations such as the WHO (World Health Organization) and UNESCO were enabled to provide fair access to resources during a worldwide pandemic. Using a research and literature -based analysis of international laws, weak frameworks, and scholarly interpretations published before, during, and after the pandemic, the study discusses the effectiveness of legal laws controlling global health and education. While international law does focus the access to healthcare and learning essential, these fram eworks mostly depend too much on continuous realization, collaboration, and unenforceable recommendation. Case studies focusing on COVAX vaccines spreading and education systems in Sub -Saharan Africa displays the lack of right for authority to allow richer countries to focus more on national interest within vaccine distribution and stronger digital education architecture frameworks without crossing international law’s interests. The paper concludes with the result that pandemic-era disparities were pressured not only by organizations’ failure, but also due to the structural constraints of international legal law. It states that without legal techniques, emergency funding, and required burden -sharing, international organizations still stay incapable of correc ting global inequalities during emergency crises, undermining the need for legal change in global health and educational systems.
Keywords
Keywords: International Law; COVID-19; Vaccine Inequality; Education Inequality; WHO; UNESCO
Introduction
International law provides norms and standards, but enforcement and domestic capacity vary widely. COVID-19 offers a natural experiment to assess how those norms translate into equitable outcomes.
Conclusion
Strengthening resilience requires coordinated investment in health systems and education access, alongside clearer guidance for emergency measures. Legal evaluation should be paired with empirical monitoring of distributional impacts.
How to Cite
Kim, Juwon; An, Hyunjun. Evaluating International Health and Education Law: Inequality During COVID-19. Journal of Youth Impact. April 2026; 1(Issue 2). DOI: https://doi.org/10.66245/jyi.v1.i2.005