As an international legal instrument, the International Health Regulations (IHR) is internationally binding in 196 countries, especially in all the member states of the World Health Organization (WHO). The IHR aims to prevent, protect against, control, and respond to the international spread of disease and aims to cut out unnecessary interruptions to traffic and trade. To meet IHR requirements,...

Editorials 310 In 2007, the coming into force of the revised International Health Regulations (2005) 1 [IHR (2005)] – the most powerful, far-reaching instrument of international law ever conceived to protect people's health – was met with excitement. The purpose behind the IHR (2005) was to prevent and detect international health threats with minimal disruption to travel, trade and the economy....

The international community has joined together to form a world trade system based on the rule of law. Although imperfect, the world trade system contains enforceable norms designed to facilitate international economic activity. Infectious diseases pose as great a threat to the well being of nations. Yet, global health governance remains weak or nonexistent. As The Lancet Infectious Diseases ha...

The revised International Health Regulations (IHR [2005]) conferred new responsibilities on member states of the World Health Organization, requiring them to develop core capacities to detect, assess, report, and respond to public health emergencies. Many countries have not yet developed these capacities, and poor understanding of the associated costs have created a barrier to effectively marsh...

1. Resolution WHA56.28 requested the Director-General “to convene the intergovernmental working group on revision of the International Health Regulations at the appropriate time and on the agreement of the Executive Board at its 113th session in January 2004, having regard to the progress achieved on the technical work and the other commitments of the Organization.” This report provides informa...