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Publications
WHO’s publications about country health emergency preparedness and International Health Regulations range from short, user-friendly information products for a general audience to detailed reports and other technical works. All our publications can be downloaded free of charge.
International Health Regulations (3rd edition)
The International Health Regulations (IHR) 2005 provide an overarching legal framework that defines countries’ rights and obligations in handling public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders. The IHR are an instrument of international law that is legally-binding on 196 countries, including the 194 WHO Member States.
This third edition contains the first amendment to the IHR 2005: a revision to Annex 7 adopted by the Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly in 2014. In accordance with the WHO Constitution and the IHR 2005, this amendment entered into force for all States Parties on 11 July 2016. There were no reservations or rejections concerning the amendment submitted by any State Party within the period required by the IHR 2005.
This edition also updates Appendix 1 containing the list of IHR 2005 States Parties (to include Liechtenstein and South Sudan). As of the Sixty-ninth World Health Assembly in 2016, five Review Committees have been convened under the IHR 2005 and reported with conclusions and recommendations on key aspects of the functioning and implementation of the Regulations.
