Change in international health regulations

The federal government's draft law to amend the International Health Regulations was approved in the Bundestag. There was a recommendation for a resolution on the draft law from the Health Committee, which recommends the adoption of the draft law. The draft law aims to legally bind Germany to the changes to the World Health Organization (WHO) International Health Regulations (IHR) adopted by the 77th World Health Assembly. These regulations are considered a key international instrument for combating cross-border health threats. Experiences from recent health crises, in particular the Covid-19 pandemic, have shown that the existing IHR need to be revised with a view to the international coordination of pandemic responses. One of the key changes is the introduction of the new term “pandemic emergency”. In addition, “justice” and “solidarity” should be included as fundamental principles in the IHR. The aim of the reforms is to strengthen WHO's support to member states in health protection measures, for example through easier access to essential medicines and medical products. In addition, cooperation and mutual support between states should be improved as part of the protective measures coordinated by the WHO. The bill was approved with 428 votes in favour. 131 MPs voted against it, including MPs from the AfD parliamentary group and Saskia Ludwig from the CDU parliamentary group. There were no abstentions.