The main objective of this Module is to explore the reasons behind the creation of this MOOC, its structure and the main topics covered. Using several real-world examples this Module introduces the main facets of the International Health Regulations (IHR) and controversies around it, and also presents the factors that motivated the countries to come together for the first time to discuss the issues of international public health, and the resulting documents that would later give birth to the first ever IHR.

This Module presents the content of the 2005 revision of the IHR and the main factors that led to the need for this revision, such as major societal changes, globalization and expansion of travel and international exchanges of people, leading to emergence and re-emergence of health threats. This Module also walks the student through the IHR text and outlines its main elements: definitions, main principles and goals, as well as the mechanisms of assessment and notification of health events of potential concern.

This and the following Module provide an introduction to the complex interconnectedness of public health, and the IHR specifically, with other sectors. More precisely, Module 3 focuses on the linkage between human health and animal health and possible future health threats. Students will get familiar with examples of situations in which the IHR has come into action to limit the effects of a health hazard, such as Zika virus, SARS or Ebola epidemics that were declared as public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC), along with the H1N1 outbreak.

Further exploring the aspect of intersectorality of the IHR, this Module will examine the effects that a public health event can potentially have on the global economy, travel and trade. It will define basic, additional and excessive public health measures that can be applied in case of an international health emergency, as well as specific documents that are necessary to ensure safety in international traffic and trade. This Module will also introduce the students to the issue of national security in the context of practical application of the IHR.

In this Module, students will get familiar with the main mechanism of assessment of the IHR implementation progress - the IHR Monitoring Framework. Particular attention will be given to the Joint External Evaluation (JEE) process, as well as its final step - national planning. One of the units will introduce the concept of the IHR-PVS Bridging workshop that links together human and animal health. At the end of this Module, students will discover several real-life examples of daily activities of the National Focal Points that are responsible for the IHR implementation at the national level.

This Module provides a critical assessment of the global progress of the IHR implementation. It examines the main challenges that countries are facing while preparing for or during public health events, including possible violations of human rights. This Module also provides an extensive overview of the main reforms that were implemented inside the WHO after the Ebola epidemic in Africa in 2014-2015, as well as steps forward that were taken by other actors at the international level.

Congratulations, you have successfully finished all the educational sections of our MOOC! We hope you enjoyed the teaching materials and were able to gain lots of valuable insights on how the International Health Regulations are implemented in real life and why it is so important to raise awareness on this issue. We would like to thank you for your active participation and conclude with a short video message, a final quiz on different aspects of the IHR covered throughout the course and a discussion prompt to reflect on the progress you made. Good luck and hope to see you again in our online learning community!