The Los Angeles Post

Amendments to International Health Regulations Strengthen Global Pandemic Preparedness

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Office of the Spokesperson

Late last week in Geneva, the U.S. delegation to the World Health Assembly, led by Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, together with delegates from other WHO-member countries, successfully adopted a number of amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), the most significant updates to the IHR in nearly 20 years.  These amendments will:

  • Enhance transparency and timeliness of information, and make the global health security architecture stronger overall while maintaining full respect for sovereignty of individual states;
  • Improve access to critical health products, to more equitably prevent, prepare, and respond to pandemic emergencies, regardless of where they arise; and
  • Take steps to better identify and close critical gaps in health security capacities, including through the establishment of an Implementation Committee, to stop outbreaks before they threaten Americans and our security.

These developments will ensure the United States is better prepared to respond to the next international health emergency, demonstrating that countries can come together and tackle global challenges to improve the lives of people around the world and provides momentum for concluding the Pandemic Agreement, which nations agreed to finalize by May 2025.  As the world’s leading foreign assistance donor, the United States commitment to health and health security is unmatched. The United States has pledged $700 million to the new Pandemic Fund and believes in its mission to provide a dedicated stream of additional, long-term financing to strengthen core capacities in low- and middle-income countries