The World Health Organisation and the Challenges of Globalization: A Critical Analysis of the Proposed Revision to the International Health Regulations

This article critically appraises the WHO’s regulatory approach to control of infectious diseases. It focuses primarily on the International Health Regulations (IHR) in particular from the standpoint of vulnerable, developing countries. While being the most important legal instrument that the WHO has so far adopted, the IHR have been criticized, among other things, for their limited scope of application and the fact that the health measures which they provide for are based on an outmoded understanding of national sovereignty. The article seeks to evaluate whether the WHO’s first draft articles of the IHR, published in its Working Paper of 12 January 2004, can adequately meet challenges of both new and old but resurgent pathogens in the globalizing world. The author argues that, of the revisions proposed by the WHO, the establishment of a supervisory body operating a complaint-based procedure in relation to non-compliance would be the most significant means of enhancing the effectiveness of the IHR.