International Health Regulations (IHR) with amendments adopted consensually by WHO members states in 2024 at the 77th World Health Assembly in Geneva enter into force effective September 19, 2025 Friday.
This reflects a renewed global commitment to cooperation in the face of public health emergencies, shaped by hard-earned lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, stated in a press note of WHO,
The IHR are global regulations that guide 196 States Parties, including all 194 WHO Member States, on their rights and obligations concerning public health risks. They recognize that infectious diseases and other public health risks do not respect borders, and that coordinated global action is critical.
The origins of the IHR can be traced back to the 19th century. Initially governed by bilateral and regional treaties, these efforts were made global under the International Sanitary Regulations in 1951 following the founding of WHO. These regulations were later renamed the IHR and have since evolved to meet the changing landscape of global health, the note reads.
Besides other, the amendments also introduce the establishment of National IHR Authorities by governments to coordinate IHR implementation. Alongside the amended IHR, Member States also adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement at this year’s World Health Assembly and are actively negotiating an annex to the agreement on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing.
Under the IHR, WHO serves as the Secretariat, without authority to compel action by countries.
