GENEVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced that amended International Health Regulations (IHR) officially took effect today, reinforcing global cooperation to confront future pandemics. The changes reflect lessons learned from COVID-19.
According to WHO, the IHR guide 196 States Parties, including all 194 WHO Member States, on their rights and obligations in responding to cross-border public health risks. Infectious diseases, the agency warned, “do not respect borders,” making collective action critical.
The regulations date back to the 19th century when international travel and trade demanded quarantine measures. First consolidated as International Sanitary Regulations in 1951, they were renamed the IHR and last revised in 2005 after the SARS outbreak.
At the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly in Geneva in 2024, Member States adopted wide-ranging amendments by consensus. A key addition is the “pandemic emergency” alert, which triggers stronger international collaboration when a health threat escalates beyond a public health emergency of international concern.
The amendments also require governments to establish National IHR Authorities and to enhance equitable access to medicines and financing. “The strengthening of the International Health Regulations represents a historic commitment to protect future generations from the devastating impact of epidemics and pandemics,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
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WHO stressed that while States retain sovereign rights to enact their own health laws, the organization coordinates IHR implementation without power to compel action. Eleven States Parties rejected the 2024 changes but may withdraw their objections later.
Meanwhile, WHO reported significant progress in tackling the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Bulape health zone. Two weeks after the 4 September declaration, contact-tracing coverage has surged to over 90 percent, up from 19 percent.
Sixteen patients are receiving care in a newly established 34-bed treatment centre, with two survivors discharged. Laboratory testing now delivers results within six hours, down from several days, boosting early detection and treatment.
To reduce community transmission and protect health workers, 523 frontline staff and contacts have been vaccinated. Around 45,000 additional doses of the Ervebo vaccine have been approved, with 2,000 already delivered.
“While we’re witnessing important improvements in the response, we’re still in the early days of the outbreak,” warned Dr Mohamed Janabi, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Determined action is vital to end its spread and protect the population.”
WHO and partners, including Médecins Sans Frontières and UNICEF, continue to strengthen logistics and disease surveillance to halt the outbreak, which has so far caused 48 cases and 31 deaths in 14 Bulape localities.