During the recent World Health Assembly, the annual meeting of its 194 member countries, the WHO agreed to complete negotiations on a global Pandemic Agreement within a year, at the latest. WHO members also agreed a package of amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR).
These decisions aim to build on lessons learned from several global health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic. The package of amendments to the Regulations will strengthen global preparedness, surveillance and responses to public health emergencies, including pandemics.
The amendments to the International Health Regulations will bolster countries’ ability to detect and respond to future outbreaks and pandemics by strengthening their own national capacities, and coordination between fellow States, on disease surveillance, information sharing and response. This is built on commitment to equity, an understanding that health threats do not recognize national borders, and that preparedness is a collective endeavor.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General
Dr Tedros added: The decision to conclude the Pandemic Agreement within the next year demonstrates how strongly and urgently countries want it, because the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if.
The new amendments to the IHR include:
Introducing a definition of a pandemic emergency to trigger more effective international collaboration in response to events that are at risk of becoming, or have become, a pandemic.
The pandemic emergency definition represents a higher level of alarm that builds on the existing mechanisms of the IHR, including the determination of a public health emergency of international concern. According to the definition, a pandemic emergency is a communicable disease that has, or is at high risk of having, wide geographical spread to and within multiple States, exceeds or is at high risk of exceeding the capacity of health systems to respond in those States; causes, or is at high risk of causing, substantial social and/or economic disruption, including disruption to international traffic and trade; and requires rapid, equitable and enhanced coordinated international action, with whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches.
A commitment to solidarity and equity on strengthening access to medical products and financing.
This includes establishing a Coordinating Financial Mechanism to support identification of, and access to, financing required to “equitably address the needs and priorities of developing countries, including for developing, strengthening and maintaining core capacities,” and other pandemic emergency prevention, preparedness and response-related capacities.
Creation of National IHR Authorities to improve coordination of implementation of the Regulations within and among countries.
