Public Health Emergency of International Concern

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Covid-19 was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. As per the WHO, the focus would now be on the long-term management of the infection.

When does a disease declared as the public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC)?

• A disease is declared as a PHEIC when it meets certain criteria established by the WHO. The criteria are as follows —
  • • The disease must be serious, sudden, unusual, or unexpected.
    • There must be a significant risk of international spread.
    • There must be a significant risk of international travel/ trade restrictions.
    • There must be a significant risk of interference with international public health measures.
• If a disease meets these criteria, the WHO Director-General may declare a PHEIC based on the advice of the Emergency Committee, a group of international experts in public health and other relevant fields.

What does the PHEIC declaration mean?

• A PHEIC is the strongest global alert the WHO can formally make and, when it is declared, countries have a legal duty to respond quickly.
• It is a formal declaration by the WHO that —
  • • a disease or health event constitutes a public health risk to other countries through the international spread of disease, and
    • that a coordinated international response is required.
• When a PHEIC is declared, it allows the WHO to mobilise resources and coordinate the global response to the event.
• Examples of recent PHEIC declarations include the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Details –

• WHO has declared that Covid-19 no longer represents a “global health emergency“.
• The statement represents a major step towards ending the pandemic and comes three years after it first declared its highest level of alert over the virus.

Background –

• The novel viral infection came to light after China reported a cluster of pneumonia cases with no known cause from Wuhan in December, 2019.
• By the end of January 2020, nearly 10,000 cases had been reported, including more than 100 cases in 19 other countries.
• WHO raised its highest level of alert and termed the infection a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Why did the WHO declare Covid-19 a PHEIC?

• In 2020 and 2021, Covid-19 fulfilled all the conditions required for a disease to be declared as PHEIC.
  • Globally, the number of infections has crossed 76.5 crore, and caused 69.2 lakh deaths.
  • India has reported 4.43 crore cases and 5.3 lakh deaths due to Covid-19 so far.

Why has the WHO removed the designation now?

• Nature of the virus known —
  • Over the last three years, doctors and researchers have figured out a lot —
    • methods of transmission;
    • who are at highest risk of severe disease and death;
    • better, cheaper, and point-of-care diagnostics;
    • a treatment protocol that works;
    • medicines to prevent viral replication that can help in reducing severity of the disease; and
    • most importantly, vaccines that can prevent severe disease.
• Healthcare systems improved —
  • Governments have strengthened healthcare systems and rolled out vaccination drives.
    • Since many were infected and vaccinated, the population has developed a hybrid immunity that has been shown to offer better protection against future severe disease.
  • Health systems are no longer stressed; focus is back on non-Covid conditions that were neglected during 2020 and 2021.
  • So, for a good part of 2022 and now 2023 Covid-19 did not satisfy the conditions for a disease to be a public health emergency.

How will the WHO declaration change disease management?

• Not much will change on ground — There are no lockdowns; international travel, restaurants, and cinemas are normal; and containment and control measures haven’t been needed for some time now. So, not much will change on ground with the WHO declaration.
• Reduced surveillance —
  • • At the moment, no practical impact to the common man, but surveillance may stop or reduce greatly.
      • • There is need to look out only for variants that can be dangerous and disruptive.
        • The focus of surveillance has to be on hospitalised cases and the variants causing it.
        • Community level surveillance can be through detection of clusters.