Member States of WHO secured a desperate win in reaching consensus on the amendments to the International Health Regulations, following more than two years of systematic and intense negotiations, culminating in an astonishing agreement in the final hours of the 77th World Health Assembly. The consensus assumes greater significance in an otherwise difficult meeting of WHO member states this year, that was fraught with several political resolutions laced with rounds of voting among 194 countries.
Amendments to these technical rules, last revised in 2005 following the SARS outbreak, is the first significant change in international law in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic that saw 20 million excess deaths. These rules have been in force since 1969, but have been amended and revised on several occasions. The latest round of the adoption of these amendments, have been targeted in nature, following negotiations on 300 proposals to amend these rules as suggested by scores of countries globally. This is also a big win for the United States, among others, who spearheaded the amendments’ process in 2021. The smallest of developing countries followed suit with bold and ambitious proposals to amend these rules.