Bundestag adopts amendment of the International Health Regulations
On Thursday evening, 6 November 2025, the Bundestag adopted the Act on the Amendment of the International Health Regulations (IHR). The changes enable WHO and the States Parties to respond to pandemics and other public health threats faster and more efficiently.
The changes to the IHR show that we, as a community of states, have learned from the coronavirus pandemic. Only if we prepare for global health crises jointly and in a coordinated manner will we be ready to respond as quickly as possible and in a targeted way in the event of an emergency. Coordinated and consistent action aligned with international partners to assess and contain threats is an important part of effective pandemic control. The Act will not affect the sovereignty of the German state. Neither is WHO given competencies that limit Germany’s capacity to act, nor is diversity of opinion restricted in any way. Going forward, Germany will continue to be able to take and adapt national measures to protect its own population in the event of health risks. This sovereignty is in fact non-negotiable for the Federal Government.
Key changes:
- The International Health Regulations have introduced a definition of “pandemic emergency”. Declaring a pandemic emergency enables the WHO Director-General to issue Temporary Recommendations in a pandemic, as a special form of “public health emergency of international concern”.
- Commitments to “equity” and “solidarity” have also been incorporated into the IHR.
- To speed up reporting to WHO of clusters of cases of severe acute respiratory disease of unknown or novel cause, the relevant testing algorithm has been adjusted.
- States Parties will be required to consult with WHO at an early stage if, in case of certain unclear public health events, the information available is insufficient to decide whether the testing algorithm would support full notification to WHO.
- Moreover, to better sustain the effective implementation of the Regulations, a States Parties Committee will be set up. The Committee is to support the implementation of and compliance with the IHR.
- To respond to events that have the potential to become a public health emergency of international concern, the States Parties must maintain additional core capacities. The amendments also involve ensuring the availability of laboratory diagnostic capacities (also at regional level), of risk communication capacities, including addressing misinformation and disinformation, as well as of capacities for developing guidance for clinical case management.
- To develop the core capacities required for the implementation of the IHR, a Coordinating Financial Mechanism under the authority and guidance of the World Health Assembly is established to make more efficient use of financial resources.
The Act requires the consent of the Bundesrat.
Reform of the International Health Regulations
Concluding two years of work following the COVID-19 pandemic, the WHO States Parties agreed on the critical amendments to the International Health Regulations at the 77th World Health Assembly in June 2024. To approve the amendments nationally, ratifying legislation is required under the Basic Law. The legislation puts in place the prerequisites to bind the Federal Republic of Germany under international law to the adopted amendments to the IHR. This will not affect Germany’s national sovereignty nor national public health protection measures.
Additional information
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Chronicle of the Law
All stages and drafts, as well as statements on the law amending the International Health Regulations (IHR), are available for download in this directory.