Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Public Health Emergency of International Concern Latest News

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared the ongoing Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

About Public Health Emergency of International Concern

• It is an emergency declaration formally announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) in response to a crisis of international proportions that can affect people’s health. 
• It is the WHO’s highest level of global health alert.
• Such a declaration may require immediate action at a global level against the international spread of disease. 
• A PHEIC is subject to the International Health Regulations (IHR), which require those states involved to promptly respond to the crisis at hand. 
• PHEICs are decided upon by a governing body of international experts known as the IHR Emergency Committee, a group formed in the aftermath of the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak. 
• The declaration is reviewed on a tri-monthly basis and renewed as needed. 
• However, certain disease outbreaks can be declared a PHEIC without the approval of the IHR. 
• Alongside infectious disease, a PHEIC can also be declared in response to outbreaks of public health hazards such as chemical agents or radioactive materials. 

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Key Facts about International Health Regulations 

• The IHR was adopted by the Health Assembly (decision-making body of WHO) in 1969 in an effort to prevent the spread of disease across national borders. 
• Following the chaotic global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) that lasted between 2002 and 2004, revisions were made to the IHR to account for such global emergencies. 
• A new IHR was adopted at the 58th World Health Assembly in May 2005. 
• The IHR 2005 was an international agreement among 196 countries committed to upholding global health security. 
• WHO was deemed the coordinating body of this agreement.

Source: UN