More joined-up thinking is clearly needed between health system strengthening activities and health security efforts for prevention, alert and response – this is the key message of a recent article published by WHO authors in the Global Health section of the British Medical Journal. In the article, the authors discuss how and where intersections between the International Health Regulations (IHR) and the health system can be best leveraged towards developing greater health system resilience. The article covers lessons learned from global emergencies, which demonstrate that health systems strengthening and health emergencies response should be viewed as complementary efforts.