The IHR are an instrument of international law that is legally-binding on 196 countries, including the 194 WHO Member States.
It's for that reason that I have decided to convene the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations next week to assess whether this outbreak represents a public health emergency of international concern."Īs per the WHO, while disease outbreaks and other acute public health risks are often unpredictable and require a range of responses, the International Health Regulations, 2005 (IHR) 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. Ghebreyesus said, "The global outbreak of Monkeypox is clearly unusual and concerning. No deaths have been reported so far from the newly-affected countries, although the WHO is seeking to verify news reports from Brazil over a Monkeypox-related death. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday that Monkeypox outbreak is "clearly unusual and concerning", which has so far this year caused over 1,600 confirmed and almost 1,500 suspected infections from 39 countries – including seven where monkeypox has been detected for years and 32 newly-affected countries.įurther, so far this year, 72 deaths have been reported from previously-affected countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) has convened an emergency committee meeting next week to assess whether the current outbreak of Monkeypox represents a public health emergency of international concern.