In 2022, the World Health Assembly agreed to embark on a process to consider proposed amendments to the current International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR). The process is being led by the Member States of WHO through the Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) and builds on lessons learned from the various review panels that examined the functioning of the IHR and the global health security architecture during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The fourth meeting of the WGIHR will be held from 24–28 July 2023. During this meeting, member States will consider the proposed amendments to Articles 4 Responsible authorities, Articles 5-11 related to notification, verification and information sharing by WHO about public health risks, Article 12 on the determination of a public health emergency of international concern, Articles 15-18 related to recommendations and Articles 48-49 on the Emergency Committee. They will also receive an update about the intersessional activities related to previously considered articles.
The opening plenary session, which will take place on 24 July at 14:00, will be publicly webcast. As agreed by the WGIHR, it will be open to WHO Member States, Associate Members and regional economic integration organizations, as well as to relevant stakeholders. As decided by Member States, the drafting group is held in closed sessions, with attendance limited to: WHO Member States, Associate Members, regional economic integration organizations; the Holy See, and Liechtenstein as States Parties to the IHR that are not Member States of WHO; and the Observer Delegation of Palestine.
The report of the meeting will be discussed on the last day as part of an open session, which will be webcast, and subsequently posted on the governing bodies section of the WHO website.
The WGIHR and the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) for a WHO instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response will also hold a joint meeting on Friday 21 July, from 14:00–17:00, and Monday 24 July, from 9:00–12:00, to move further towards coherence and complementarity between the two instruments. The joint meeting will be webcast - see further down this page.
Webcast of the joint WGHIR and INB meeting: 21 and 24 July 2023