IHR: A multisectoral approach

The International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005) are legally binding upon each State Party’s government as a whole, rather than upon a single ministry, agency, office or sector. This means a multisectoral approach is central to the IHR (2005), with collaboration among all relevant national sectors to detect, assess and respond to a variety of potential public health emergencies of international concern.

The all-hazard approach means that sectors involved in country-level IHR implementation include those responsible for: public health; food safety; veterinary medicine; emergency management; environment; international borders, ports, airports and ground crossings; customs; economy and trade; agriculture (including animal health); radionuclear safety and chemical safety; industry; and transportation.

Information sharing arrangements and collaboration between these sectors are essential, both on a routine basis and during emergencies; they allow the IHR to meet the goal of preventing, protecting against, controlling and responding to the international spread of disease while avoiding unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.