International Health Regulations

The International Health Regulations are a legally binding set of international rules first adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1969 and most recently revised in 2024, intended to enable international collaboration to prevent, protect against, control and respond to the international spread of disease. They empower the World Health Organization to act as the primary global disease surveillance system, requiring member countries to assess their own surveillance and response capabilities, report outbreaks rapidly and implement measures against disease spread while minimizing disruption to international trade and travel. Following the 2002 to 2004 SARS outbreak, a substantial revision was adopted in 2005, extending the regulations beyond the original six quarantinable diseases to cover broader public health emergencies of international concern; the revised regulations entered into force in June 2007 and bind 196 countries, including every World Health Organization member state. Further amendments adopted in 2024 introduced a new pandemic emergency alert level and established National IHR Authorities in each country, intended to strengthen international coordination after gaps exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, taking effect in September 2025.