Declaring a public health emergency of international concern: between international law and politics

International law and public health.

At the beginning of the 21st century there is widespread recognition that national and international health are inseparable. Societies are increasingly turning to innovative and diverse mechanisms of international health cooperation to gain control over the forces that are globalizing public health and related risk factors such as those outlined in this year’s World Health Report (1). Consequen...

ebola hemorrhagic fever as a public health emergency of international concern; a review article

ebola hemorrhagic fever (ehf) was first reported in 1976 with two concurrent outbreaks of acute viral hemorrhagic fever centered in yambuku (near the ebola river), democratic republic of congo, and also in nzara, sudan. the current outbreak of the ebola virus was started by reporting the first case in march 2014 in the forest regions of southeastern guinea. due to raising infection rates of ove...

A Public Health Emergency of International Concern? Response to a Proposal to Apply the International Health Regulations to Antimicrobial Resistance

There is little question that the international spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an alarming development that the global public health community must confront as a matter of some priority. Reducing the incidence of new cases will take the concerted effort and participation of all community sectors, and will require strong political leadership. The World Health Organization (WHO) is b...

Law, Politics, and International Governance

International environmental law and global public health.

The environment continues to be a source of ill-health for many people, particularly in developing countries. International environmental law offers a viable strategy for enhancing public health through the promotion of increased awareness of the linkages between health and environment, mobilization of technical and financial resources, strengthening of research and monitoring, enforcement of h...