In a landmark decision, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) World Health Assembly has agreed to new measures aimed at strengthening global preparedness for and response to pandemics such as COVID-19 and mpox. These changes include revising the International Health Regulations (IHR) to better define terms like “pandemic emergency” and provide developing countries with greater access to funding and medical resources.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commended the success of the IHR amendments, emphasizing the importance of nations coming together for a common goal. Lawrence Gostin of Georgetown University also praised the decision, calling it a “big win for health security” and predicting that it will facilitate negotiations for a pandemic treaty.
The newly defined pandemic emergency criteria specify that it is a communicable disease with widespread geographic reach or high potential for such spread. It must also exceed or have the potential to exceed the capacity of national health systems, causing significant economic and social disruption that demands rapid international intervention.
While these amendments to the regulations will not take effect immediately, they are set to come into force one year after formal notification from Tedros. Yuanqiong Hu from Doctors Without Borders noted that these changes represent progress towards ensuring fair and timely responses in emergencies by addressing equity in access to health products during global health crises.
