All WHO member states are signatories of the IHR (1) to improve global health security. Objectives are to improve countries' capacities to detect, notify and respond to PHEICs. Rapid and transparent information sharing are critical for global coordination and rapid response to minimize an eventÃs impact on the public. The IHR require countries to establish a point of contact, or National Focal Point (NFP), responsible for notifying WHO of potential PHEICs and responding to requests of information. Potential PHEICs are assessed by the country and re-assessed by WHO, which posts its assessment together with information on response measures on a secure IHR Event information Site (EIS) accessible by all NFPs.
Objective
We looked at the public health impact in the US of the notification requirement of potential public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC) under the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) to the World Health Organization (WHO).