The International Health Regulations (IHR) is an agreement between 196 countries to work together for global health security, coordinated by WHO. Countries have agreed to build their capacities to detect, assess and report public health events, and to keep traffic and trade disruption to a minimum.
- Text of the IHR
- Landing page on WHO website
Article 2 Purpose and scope
The purpose and scope of these Regulations are to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease in ways that are commensurate with and restricted to public health risks, and which avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.
EMERGENCY COMMITTEES
Below are listed all events since 15 June 2007 where the WHO established an Emergency Committee (articles 48-49). WHO determined some of the events to be a Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) (article 12) and issued Temporary Recommendations (articles 15 and 17).
2009-10 IHR Emergency Committee concerning Influenza Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 [PHEIC]
- Determination of PHEIC (25 April 2009)
- Determination of end of PHEIC (10 August 2010)
- Landing page on WHO web site
2013- IHR Emergency Committee concerning Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus [Non-PHEIC]
- First meeting of the committee (9 July 2013)
- Landing page on WHO web site
2014- IHR Emergency Committee concerning ongoing events and context involving transmission and international spread of poliovirus [PHEIC]
- Determination of PHEIC (5 May 2014)
- Landing page on WHO web site
2014-16 IHR Emergency Committee regarding Ebola [PHEIC]
- Determination of PHEIC (8 August 2014)
- Determination of end of PHEIC (29 March 2015)
- Landing page on WHO website
2016 IHR Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations [PHEIC]
- Determination of PHEIC (1 Februar 2016)
- Determination of end of PHEIC (18 November 2016)
- Landing page on WHO website
2016 IHR Emergency Committee on yellow fever [non-PHEIC]
- First meeting of committee (19 May 2016)
- Landing page on WHO website
2018 IHR Emergency Committee regarding the for Ebola Virus Disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [non-PHEIC]
- First meeting of committee (18 May 2018)
2018- IHR Emergency Committee for Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo [PHEIC]
- First meeting of committee (17 October 2018)
- Second meeting of committee (12 April 2019)
- Third meeting of committee (14 June 2019)
- Fourth meeting of committee / Determination of PHEIC (17 July 2019)
2020 IHR Emergency Committee regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) [PHEIC]
- First meeting of committee (23 January 2020)
- Second meeting of committee / determination of PHEIC (30 January 2020)
- Landing page on WHO web site
REVIEW COMMITTEES
Below are listed all Review Committees (articles 50-52) since 15 June 2007 that have reviewed aspects of the functioning of the IHR and whose reports have been transmitted to the World Health Assembly (WHA).
2010-2011: The Review Committee on the Functioning of the International Health Regulations (2005) in relation to Pandemic (H1N1) 2009
- Report to the WHA
- Resolution of the WHA
- Landing page on WHO website
2014: The IHR Review Committee on Second Extensions for establishing national public health capacities and on IHR implementation
- Report to the WHA
- Resolution of the WHA
- Landing page on WHO website
2015-16: The Review Committee on the Role of the International Health Regulations (2005) in the Ebola Outbreak and Response
- Report to the WHA
- Decision of the WHA
- Landing page on WHO web site