Fact Sheet - WHO Fellows study International Health Regulations at Georgetown Law School

The Training and Fellowships team of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) hosted a delegation of four Indian officials for a two-week training program on International Health Regulations (IHR).

The program was developed in collaboration with the O’Neil Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University, and the objectives were to gain knowledge of IHR, learn how to effectively implement IHR, compare IHR functions in the US and other countries, and gain insight through best practices and lessons learned. The training program, which took place on the Georgetown University Law School campus in Washington, DC, presented a thorough overview of IHR and related issues.

The curriculum included an overview and introduction to the revised IHR, national legislation and IHR implementation, surveillance and outbreak response, the virus sharing agreement, international trade, and international human rights. In addition to the coursework, the Fellow visited three agencies where they had the opportunity to observe and dialogue with health officials involved in IHR at the regional, federal and local level at the Pan American Health Organization, the U.S. Health and Human Services and the Arlington County Health Services in Virginia. The four delegates were sponsored by WHO/India.

Three of the officials came from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) in New Delhi and one worked at the provincial level, with the North Eastern Indira Ghandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences. This study tour is part of the WHO Fellowships program which seeks to build capacity in Human Resources for Health through training and international dialogue