Declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern: Between International Law and Politics (Bristol Shorts Research)

Amid a global health emergency, the process for Declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is at a crossroads. As a formal declaration by the World Health Organization, a PHEIC is governed by clear legislation as to what is, and what is not, deemed a global health security threat. However, it has become politicized and the legal criteria now appear to be secondary to the political motivation or outcome of the announcement. Addressing multiple empirical case studies, including COVID-19, this multidisciplinary book explores the relationship between international law and international relations to interrogate how a PHEIC is declared and the impact of its inconsistent use on the PHEIC tool, WHO and global health security more broadly. Front Cover Declaring A Public Health Emergency of International Concern: Between International Law and Politics Copyright information Table of contents Table of Instruments List of figures Notes on the Authors Acknowledgments Introduction A Public Health Emergency of International Concern The PHEIC: between international law and politics? Why this matters Methodology Structure of the book One From Westphalian to Post-Westphalian? The Origins of the PHEIC Declaration and the 2005 International Health Regulations International Sanitary Conferences The 1969 International Health Regulations – need for reform Reforming the regulations SARS, China and the use of discretionary powers at the WHO Reforming the IHR – process, politics and an innovative treaty Two A Public Health Emergency of International Concern: Between Legal Obligations and Political Reality Role of states that are party to the IHR Role of the WHO Director-General Role of the Emergency Committee Public Health Emergency of International Concern Extraordinary event Risk of the international spread of disease Coordinated international response The declaration of a PHEIC and the IHR process Transparency, accountability and good governance of the PHEIC process Blurring the lines between the EC and the DG Transparency and good governance Three Case Studies on the PHEIC Declaration 2009-H1N1 PHEIC decision making Temporary recommendations Additional reflections: 2009-H1N1, a PHEIC and a pandemic Polio PHEIC decision making Temporary recommendations Additional considerations The West African Ebola outbreak PHEIC decision making Temporary recommendations Additional considerations Zika PHEIC decision making Temporary recommendations Additional reflections Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo90 PHEIC decision making October 2018 April 2019 June 2019 July 2019 Temporary recommendations Additional reflections COVID-19 PHEIC decision making Temporary recommendations Additional reflections Four Events That Were Not Declared a PHEIC MERS-CoV Yellow fever Events for which no IHR EC was convened Cholera in Zimbabwe Cholera in Haiti Beyond naturally occurring events Conclusion Bibliography Index Back Cover Index Amid a global health crisis, the process for declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is at a crossroads. As a formal declaration by the World Health Organization, a PHEIC is governed by clear legislation as to what is, and what is not, deemed a global health security threat. However, it has become increasingly politicized, and the legal criteria now appear to be secondary to the political motivation or outcome of the announcement. Addressing multiple empirical case studies, including COVID-19, this multidisciplinary book explores the relationship between international law and international relations to interrogate how a PHEIC is declared and its role in how we collectively respond to outbreaks. Amid a global health crisis, the process for declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is at a crossroads. As a formal declaration by the World Health Organization, a PHEIC is governed by clear legislation as to what is, and what is not, deemed a global health security threat. However, it has become increasingly politicised, and the legal criteria now appear to be secondary to the political motivation or outcome of the announcement. Addressing multiple empirical case studies, including COVID-19, this multidisciplinary book explores the relationship between international law and international relations to interrogate how a PHEIC is declared and its role in how we collectively respond to outbreaks Addressing multiple empirical case studies, including COVID-19, this multidisciplinary book explores the relationship between international law and international relations to interrogate how a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) is declared and its role in how we collectively respond to outbreaks.