Strengthening Global Health Preparedness: The Global Health Hub Germany’s Statement on the International Health Regulations Hearing

On 13 October 2025, the Health Committee of the German Bundestag held a public hearing on the federal government’s draft law to implement the 2024 amendments to the World Health Organization’s International Health Regulations (IHR).

The session gathered expert views on how Germany should translate the amendments of these global rules into national action. The draft law aims to bind Germany under international law to the revised International Health Regulations, adopted by the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly in Geneva.

The International Health Regulations (2005) form the central legal framework for cross-border disease control and Global Health governance. Drawing lessons from COVID-19, the 77th World Health Assembly adopted targeted amendments in June 2024. These changes are designed to enable faster, better-coordinated responses to public health threats that cross borders. They include a new definition of a “pandemic emergency”, stronger information sharing and coordination with the WHO, enhanced solidarity and equity principles, new financing and coordination mechanisms among member states, and clearer criteria for rapid information exchange.

Against this backdrop, the Global Health Hub Germany submitted a written statement to the Health Committee. The statement reflects the perspective of the Hub Community “Pandemic Preparedness and Biosecurity”. It emphasises practical steps Germany can take without triggering automatic additional spending to improve early detection, protect health, and safeguard economic stability when new threats emerge.

Two Actionable Priorities: Earlier Signals, Steadier Supplies

In its statement to the Health Committee, the Hub Community on Pandemic Preparedness and Biosecurity stresses that the reform of the International Health Regulations enables earlier detection and faster action during future health crises.

The Hub Community proposes two actionable, cost-neutral measures to strengthen Germany’s security, sovereignty, and economic stability:

1. Expand early detection structures and introduce annual transparent reporting
2. Secure supply and production capacities through clear procurement conditions and targeted international cooperation

1. Building on Existing Strengths: Early Detection and Transparency

Germany already has well-established systems for wastewater monitoring and genomic surveillance. The Hub recommends gradually expanding these systems and adding a metagenomic module to detect new or unknown pathogens.

“Metagenomics means analysing all genetic material in a sample,” explains the Hub statement. “Samples can come from wastewater, sentinel sites, or airports.”

This broad detection approach identifies emerging pathogens without narrowing the search in advance. Data remain aggregated and anonymised, ensuring privacy while providing valuable early warning signals.

Clearly defined alert thresholds would allow unusual signals to be verified quickly and, if needed, communicated to the WHO. To ensure political accountability, the Hub community proposes an annual implementation report to the Bundestag Health Committee. Such transparency enables decision-makers to adjust priorities before new funds are committed.

2. Resilient Supply Chains for Health Security

The IHR amendments also highlight equitable access to essential health products and resilient supply chains. The Hub Community welcomes the inclusion of solidarity and justice as guiding principles. These principles are not only ethical but also serve as practical tools for risk reduction. When outbreak hotspots receive rapid access to countermeasures, supply chains stabilise globally, protecting populations in Germany and partner countries alike.

The Hub Community underlines that this can be implemented fiscally responsibly through clear rules, transparency, and targeted incentives rather than additional spending.

To put these principles into practice, the statement recommends:

• Binding conditions for public funding and advance purchase agreements, including transparent pricing, reliable delivery commitments, and transparency across production and logistics chains
• Licensing options for partners facing supply shortages to strengthen global equity
• Targeted international financing coordination under Articles 44 and 44bis of the IHR to systematically identify and address capacity gaps in partner countries
• Diversifying supply chains by supporting regional production in low- and middle-income countries

“Reliable production capacities abroad reduce dependencies and increase Germany’s sovereignty in crises,” the statement notes.

Annual reporting on financing coordination, procurement conditions, and supply-chain projects would further enhance transparency and accountability.

Conclusion: Turning Regulation into Readiness

The revised International Health Regulations offer the world a concrete opportunity to reduce pandemic risks measurably and fairly. If Germany expand early detection, govern implementation transparently, and align procurement and supply chains wisely, we protect health, safeguard daily life, and reduce economic losses.

Germany now has a framework to act, by building on its strengths, collaborating internationally, and embedding transparency into every layer of preparedness.

The Global Health Hub Germany calls on policymakers to ensure that the national implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) strengthens transparency, equity, and global cooperation.

By expanding early detection, ensuring fair access to health products, and investing in resilient supply chains, Germany can set a strong example of evidence-based Global Health governance.

👉 Read the full Hub community statement submitted to the Health Committee: Download the GHHG Position Paper (PDF)

👉 Interested in other statements submitted by the Global Health Hub Germany to the Health Committee?

• Klimawandel und mentale Gesundheit (February 2024)

• Deutsche Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie (April 2023)