Abstract
The new International Health Regulations adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2005 (IHR 2005) represents a major development in the use of international law for public health purposes. One of the most important aspects of IHR 2005 is the establishment of a global surveillance system for public health emergencies of international concern. This article assesses the surveillance system in IHR 2005 by applying well-established frameworks for evaluating public health surveillance. The assessment shows that IHR 2005 constitutes a major advance in global surveillance from what has prevailed in the past. Effectively implementing the IHR 2005 surveillance objectives requires surmounting technical, resource, governance, legal, and political obstacles. Although IHR 2005 contains some provisions that directly address these obstacles, active support by the World Health Organization and its member states is required to strengthen national and global surveillance capabilities.
Highlights
The new International Health Regulations adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2005 (IHR 2005) represents a major development in the use of international law for public health purposes
It concludes by discussing obstacles that could prevent IHR 2005 from becoming an effective global public health surveillance system and addressing how these obstacles might be overcome
Establishing effective global public health surveillance is at the heart of IHR 2005
Summary
The new International Health Regulations adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2005 (IHR 2005) represents a major development in the use of international law for public health purposes. This article assesses the surveillance system in IHR 2005 by applying well-established frameworks for evaluating public health surveillance. IHR 2005 contains some provisions that directly address these obstacles, active support by the World Health Organization and its member states is required to strengthen national and global surveillance capabilities. On May 23, 2005, the World Health Assembly adopted the new International Health Regulations (IHR 2005) [1] as an international treaty This step concluded the decade-long effort led by the World Health Organization (WHO) to revise the old regulations (IHR 1969) to make them more effective against global disease threats. It concludes by discussing obstacles that could prevent IHR 2005 from becoming an effective global public health surveillance system and addressing how these obstacles might be overcome
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