When is an international public health emergency declared?
According to the WHO, a prerequisite for an international health emergency – Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) – is 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 require immediate internationally coordinated action
Emergency committee of experts
To make the decision, the WHO Secretary-General convenes an emergency committee of international experts called the IHR (International Health Regulations) Emergency Committee. This includes, for example, virologists, experts in disease control, vaccine developers or specialized epidemiologists. At least one member is from the affected region.
Possible WHO recommendations
- Quarantine measures
- (stricter) border controls or border closures
- Restrictions on travel
- Establishment of specialized treatment centers
- Vaccinations of medical professionals
- Measures to educate the population
The recommendations do not only concern countries and territories already affected. If other countries can contribute to contain the spread of the disease, the panel encourages them to do so as well.
International health emergencies in the past
The WHO had declared an international health emergency in the face of the following epidemics, for example:
- 2009: Swine flu
- 2014: Ebola
- 2014: Polio (until today)
- 2016: Zika virus
- 2019: Ebola
