Governments hold third round of discussions on proposed amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005)

This week, governments scrutinized more than a third of more than 300 proposed amendments to the 2005 WHO International Health Regulations (IHR). In this third round of intensive discussions, which is taking place under the auspices of the Working Group on Amendments to the IHR (WGIHR), the 196 States Parties to the IHR, which include the 194 Member States of WHO^[i] – reviewed proposed amendments to the articles related to public health response, core surveillance and response capabilities, collaboration and assistance, as well as six newly proposed articles and a new Annex.

The IHR was originally adopted to establish agreed approaches and obligations for countries to prepare for and respond to disease outbreaks and other acute public health events with risk of international spread. The original International Sanitary Regulations were revised three times: in 1969 (when they became the International Sanitary Regulations), in 1981, and in 2005. The third edition (2005) was revised twice: in 2014 and 2022. The most recent proposed amendments come in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We made excellent progress this week, covering more than a third of the proposed amendments, and we considered critical areas such as core capabilities for surveillance and response, and collaboration and assistance. Three new articles on compliance and implementation were also discussed, as well as new articles related to the public health response, such as a proposal for financial mechanisms, access to health products, technologies and knowledge during the public health response,” said Dr. Ashley Bloomfield. , former New Zealand Surgeon General and Co-Chair of the IHR Task Force.

“COVID showed the world how vulnerable we all are and what needs to be fixed in the global public health architecture if we are to be better prepared for the next big event and the tone of the discussions during this week’s meeting clearly shows that all they want to make sure this process is successful.”

Throughout the four-day meeting from April 17-20, the 196 IHR States Parties stressed the importance of carefully considering proposed amendments on their merits to fill critical gaps in IHR implementation, keeping in mind the critical importance of the principles of equity, sovereignty and solidarity.

IHR Task Force Co-Chair Dr. Abdullah M. Assiri, Deputy Minister of Health of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, said governments were committed to strengthening the IHR for the benefit of all countries and all citizens.

“Countries are in the driver’s seat of this process as they need to implement the IHR, meet obligations and make the key decisions necessary to respond to threats to public health. Together, this week, we have seen how your positive tone and constructive work have enabled us to make substantial progress,” said Dr. Assiri.

In the run up to the meeting, an independent and diverse team of experts prepared a technical evaluation of the proposed amendments to assist countries in their negotiations.

The WGIHR is expected to meet again three times in 2023, in July, October and December, to discuss and agree amendments and to present a package of proposed amendments to the World Health Assembly in May 2024.

In parallel with the IHR amendment process, governments are also negotiating the drafting of a WHO instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, also known as a pandemic agreement. The governments will meet again from June 12-16, 2023 to consider the zero draft of the agreement as the basis for a first draft as the basis for negotiation. The WGIHR supported the proposal of the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body for the Drafting of the WHO Pandemic Instrument (INB5) to hold a joint plenary meeting of the two bodies.

WHO Member States issued the International Health Regulations in 1951, the precursor to the IHR, which entered into force in 2005. The IHR is an instrument of international law that is legally binding on 196 States Parties, including the 194 Member States of the WHO. WHO.