International Health Regulations (IHR) were agreed upon by the global community to improve the detection and reporting of potential public health emergencies worldwide.
Under IHR, once a WHO member identifies a potential event, it must assess the public health risks and notify WHO.
Since IHR came into being, WHO has declared four public health emergency of international concern (PHEICs) namely, H1N1 influenza (2009), Polio (2014), Ebola (2014) and Zika virus (2016).
Covid-19 is the fifth time a PHEIC is declared by the WHO.