The World Health Organization on January 30, 2020 declared the fast-spreading coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)-that’s infected more than 8,200 people across the world.
A global health emergency is a rare designation that helps the international agency mobilize financial and political support to contain the outbreak.
What is Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)?
- The second meeting of the Emergency Committee convened by the WHO Director-General under the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus 2019 in the People’s Republic of China took place on 30 January 2020 in Geneva. The Committee’s role is to give advice to the Director-General, who makes the final decision on the determination of a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The Director-General declared that the outbreak of 2019-nCoV constitutes a PHEIC and accepted the Committee’s advice and issued this advice as Temporary Recommendations under the IHR.
- PHEIC is declared in the event of some “serious public health events” that may endanger international public health. Under the International Health Regulations (IHR), a public health emergency is defined as “an extraordinary event which is determined, as provided in these Regulations: to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease; and to potentially require a coordinated international response”.
- In the past decade, WHO has declared public health emergencies for: Swine flu, 2009 (the H1N1 virus spread across the world in 2009), Polio, 2014, Zika, 2016 and Ebola, 2014 and 2019 .
- Declaring a global emergency allows the WHO to support lower and middle income countries to strengthen their disease surveillance – and prepare them for cases.
What is Novel Coronavirus?
- The novel coronavirus (2019-nCOV) is a new strain of coronavirus which has not been previously identified in human beings. It is one among a large family of coronaviruses that can cause illnesses ranging from the common cold to the more serious Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
