Public health legislation for International Health Regulations (2005)

Abstract

The International Health Regulations (‎IHR 2005)‎ entered into force worldwide in June 2007.The Regulations cover many rights and obligations for all States Parties, including the obligation to notify the World Health Organization (‎WHO)‎ and the verification of certain public health events and risks; the application of health measures to international travellers, trade and transportation; sanitary requirements at international seaports, airports and ground crossings; and the development of core capacities for surveillance, response, laboratory, risk communication and public health emergency preparedness. For full and efficient implementation of these IHR (‎2005)‎ rights and obligations, all States Parties also need an appropriate legal framework to support and enable all the relevant State Party functions. For this reason, States Parties to the IHR (‎2005)‎ are strongly encouraged to undertake an assessment of relevant existing legislation, regulations and administrative requirements in all areas covered by the IHR (‎2005)‎ to determine whether revision or adoption of new legal instruments may be appropriate. The document provides a summary of the current status of policies, legislation, regulations, administrative requirements and other official instruments to support IHR implementation in countries of the WHO South-East Asia Region.