A Critical Appraisal of the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations (2005) in Times of Pandemic: It Is Time for Revision
Morten Broberg
Abstract
The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) is the most important international actor when it comes to coordination in the fight against contagious diseases. This article presents the International Health Regulations (2005) which constitute the WHO's legal basis for coordinating the work to counter epidemics, it identifies serious weaknesses in the International Health Regulations ( The article argues that the COVID-19 pandemic provides a warning bell that is too loud to be ignored, and that this warning bell reminds us that it is high time to prepare ourselves against those transmittable diseases that will hit us in the future. In this respect we must ensure that the WHO is much better equipped to lead this fight than what is the case today.