The countdown to a pandemic treaty

In March 2021, an extraordinary call for a pandemic treaty was issued by 25 heads of government and international agencies, marking a pivotal moment in global health governance. The ninth meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, the final leg of negotiations for the 30-page World Health Organization Pandemic Agreement, commenced last week. The key features The WHO Pandemic Agreement aims to address the systemic failures revealed by the COVID-19 crisis, with the goal of strengthening global defences and averting future pandemics from spiralling into catastrophic human crisis. The concerns The most contentious aspect of the Agreement, essentially between developing countries, and others, mostly developed countries and some stakeholders, lies in the establishment of a global system for sharing pathogens and their genetic codes, while ensuring equitable access to the ‘benefits’ derived from research, including vaccines. The Agreement risks being rendered ineffective even if the Global North was to reach a consensus on key issues such as technology transfer, the PABS System, and intellectual property waivers, without robust enforcement mechanisms.