Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005)
WHA77.17
Source verified
What the document is
Adopted by consensus on June 1, 2024, these amendments create a new top tier alert called a pandemic emergency above the existing public health emergency of international concern, require every state party to designate a National IHR Authority to coordinate implementation, and add provisions on equitable access to health products and on financing. They entered into force on September 19, 2025.
Why it is in the report
The International Health Regulations are the actual binding rulebook for cross border emergencies, and they were rewritten. Most argument about this document is conducted by people who have not opened it. The text is short enough to read in an evening.
What this document does not say. This is the most misrepresented document on this shelf, in both directions. The Organization states the amendments grant it no authority to order lockdowns, travel bans, or vaccination, and that implementation is national. The United States formally rejected them on July 18, 2025 in a joint statement by the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, characterizing the language as vague and a risk to sovereignty, so they do not apply to the United States. Georgetown legal scholars called the claim that the amendments transfer power to the Organization utterly false. Ten other states parties also rejected them. Both of those positions are on the record, and this library links them both rather than picking the one that flatters a thesis.
Open the primary source ↗Entry into force, WHO, September 19, 2025 ↗United States rejection, Department of State, July 18, 2025 ↗Search the issuer ↗
Pull it yourself
- Open the WHO questions and answers page and download the amended Regulations.
- Read the new definition of a pandemic emergency and the article on National IHR Authorities.
- Read the United States rejection statement and a legal critique of it, then decide which reading the text supports.
Cite this record
World Health Organization. Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005). International regulation, 2024-06-01. https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/international-health-regulations-amendments