What is an International Health Emergency?

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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The World Health Organization (WHO) declares an international health emergency to support and coordinate the fight against a disease across countries.

When is an international health emergency declared?

A prerequisite for an international health emergency - English: Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) - is, according to the WHO, an "extraordinary event" in which

a disease threatens to spread across national borders and thus becomes a health risk for other countries
the situation is classified as “serious, unusual or unexpected”
the situation may call for immediate internationally coordinated action

Emergency committee made up of experts

The WHO Secretary General convenes an emergency committee made up of international experts, the "IHR (International Health Regulations) Emergency Committee", to make a decision. This includes, for example, virologists, experts in disease control, vaccine developers or specialized epidemiologists. At least one member is from the affected region.

Possible recommendations from WHO

The committee recommends various measures at times to curb the spread of the pathogen or its carrier. Possible recommendations are, for example:

Quarantine measures
(stricter) border controls or border closings
Travel restrictions
Establishment of specialized treatment centers
Vaccinations for health professionals
Measures to educate the population

The recommendations do not only apply to countries and areas that are already affected. If other states can contribute to containing the spread of the disease, the panel will also ask them to do so.