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• Modernisation of the International Health Regulations - WHO Consultation
  

Modernisation of the International Health Regulations - WHO Consultation

The European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) held a consultation meeting on the International Health Regulations in Copenhagen Denmark with its 46 member states from 9 to 11 June 2004. <http://www.euro.who.int/eprise/main/who/progs/csr/cooperation/20040528_2>.

The International Health Regulations are a set code of practices and procedures designed to prevent the international spread of infectious diseases. They are binding international legal instrument that prescribes measures to the WHO and member states of the WHO for stopping human infectious diseases crossing from one country to another. The procedures and practices they require at airports, seaports, and borders are intended to prevent the international spread of infectious diseases while at the same time not interfering unnecessarily with the international movements of people and goods.  The current regulations set out roles and responsibilities for WHO and individual countries, but only for a very limited range of disease outbreaks, and it is universally accepted that modernisation of the Regulations is long overdue (1). The case for this was also summarised in the CDR Weekly (2).

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) was asked by the Department of Health, London, to assist it in preparing a response to the WHO proposals for the United Kingdom (UK). Following consultation with counterparts in the devolved administrations and other interested parties, the HPA's interim advice has been published at 

<http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/international/IHR_statement.htm>. This advice is only interim because the proposed new Regulations will be redrafted over the summer and then a further draft will be published in the Autumn.

Rather than having individual positions from the 25 European Union (EU) countries, the European Commission has negotiated an overall European Union (EU) statement, which has been sent to the Director General of WHO.This is a high level statement and further detailed comments from the EU will be prepared at a technical workshop, which will be held by the Commission on 6 July 2004.

The European consultation was highly supportive of the proposals, although there was animated discussion over important details in Working Groups. For example, on the issue of high-level statements about human rights prejudicing transfer of personal identifiable information, needed to allow prompt case isolation of people when move from country to country.  One non-EU country (Norway) proposed an amendment (article 8) contained in the HPA advice. With a new disease (eg SARS of avian influenza) WHO (in Geneva) could request relevant disaggregate data that will allow an evidence-based approach to the process of infection control <http://www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/international/IHR_statement.htm>.

Further information from this and other consultations will be available in the near future, and be published at WHO IHR website at <http://www.who.int/csr/ihr/en/>.

References

1.Gostin LO. International Infectious Disease Law - Revision of the WHO's International Health Regulations. JAMA 2004; 291: 2623-7.

2.HPA. Modernisation of the International Health Regulations - WHO European Region consultation. Commun Dis Rep CDR Wkly  [serial online] 2004 [cited 16 June 2004]; 14(20): News.  Available at <http://wwww.hpa.org.uk/cdr/archives/2004/cdr2004.pdf>.