Global health security aims to prevent and respond to cross-border health threats. Which instrument is a major framework for global health governance?

• A. World Trade Agreement
• B. International Health Regulations
• C. Climate Change Protocol
• D. Patent Law Treaty

Answer: (B)

Global health security depends on a binding framework that guides how countries detect, report, and respond to health threats that cross borders. That framework is the International Health Regulations. They establish legal duties for states to strengthen their public health capacities, to promptly notify the World Health Organization of events that may constitute a public health emergency of international concern, and to coordinate risk assessment and response to prevent international spread. The IHR were revised in 2005 to cover not just specific diseases but any event with the potential for cross-border impact, making it the central instrument for global health governance. Other options fit different domains—trade rules, climate policy, or patent law—while not providing the international, health-specific framework needed to manage cross-border health threats.