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WHO PHEIC
About WHO PHEIC
A Public Health Emergency of International Concern PHEIC was the highest alert the WHO could issue under the International Health Regulations 2005 until amendments in force since 19 September 2025 added a higher pandemic emergency level. The PHEIC mechanism was created after the 2003 SARS outbreak revealed weaknesses in global health alert systems. As of 2026, the WHO has declared 9 PHEICs: H1N1 swine flu in 2009, Polio in 2014, Ebola West Africa in 2014, Zika in 2016, Ebola DRC in 2019, COVID 19 in January 2020, Mpox in 2022, Mpox Clade I in 2024, and Bundibugyo Ebola in the DRC and Uganda in May 2026. The declaration allows the WHO to issue temporary recommendations to states parties under the legally binding IHR. The WHO has faced criticism over the timing of some PHEIC declarations, particularly during the 2014 Ebola outbreak when the declaration came 5 months after the outbreak crossed borders. The COVID PHEIC was declared on January 30, 2020, but the pandemic declaration came on March 11. The PHEIC mechanism remains imperfect but represents the main tool for global pandemic alert.
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