Countries are meeting next week in hopes of finalizing new amendments to the International Health Regulations, the internationally binding agreement that defines countries’ rights and obligations during public health emergencies. Among the issues they are expected to hammer out are new texts related to equitable access to health products and financing under Articles 13 and 44.
“As you know, those two Articles were the focus of a full day of discussions on 8 March and the Bureau proposals build on the outcome of those discussions, taking into account the range of views and feedback provided,” Ashley Bloomfield, co-chair of the working group on the IHR amendments, wrote to Devex. The bureau refers to the group of WHO member states coordinating the work on the IHR amendments.
Countries are also expected to discuss new proposed options on how the World Health Organization should alert countries when it comes to health events and a combined proposal for an Implementation and Compliance Committee for these IHR.