Global Health Law for a Safer and Fairer World

Once considered defeated by modern medicine, infectious diseases continue to devastate populations worldwide. The Covid-19 and mpox pandemics recently joined the HIV pandemic and outbreaks ranging from Zika and Ebola to wild polio. Advances in synthetic biology may create opportunities for cutting-edge interventions, but they also introduce risks from accidental or intentional releases of pathogens.

Recent health emergencies have revealed major gaps in the rules of global cooperation and the institutions overseeing them. In May 2024, the World Health Assembly will consider adopting a historic pandemic treaty and revised International Health Regulations (IHR) that could transform global health governance for a post-Covid era. It’s important to understand the major gaps in global preparedness, the critical capacities needed to create a safer and fairer world, and the international instruments required for realizing them.