Members of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) are in for another grueling week as discussions on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) pandemic agreement resumed on Monday and will continue until Friday.
With many articles still unresolved, it is unlikely the agreement will be finalized in time for the World Health Assembly (WHA) next week. However, participants aim to outline the agreement’s main points and plan the way forward by Friday.
Any agreement reached must be presented to the WHA, which will then determine the next steps.
There is already a proposal for two key aspects of the pandemic agreement—One Health and a pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) system—to be decided by 2026.
After what was supposed to be the final meeting on May 10, INB co-chairs reported that member states are finally showing a willingness to compromise after two years of little progress.
“The closer you get to the endpoint, the more willingness there is to move. We worked very hard and deep into the night, but there are just so many issues that we need to agree upon, which are sometimes very technical or political,” said INB co-chair Roland Driece.
“This is the last mile,” added co-chair Precious Matsoso, noting that delegates have been preoccupied with One Health, PABS, intellectual property, and human resources.
This week’s agenda focuses on key unresolved articles:
Common Definitions
Monday’s talks on definitions will benefit from agreements made by the Working Group on amendments to the International Health Regulations (WGIHR). The IHR and the pandemic agreement will use the same definitions.
The WGIHR worked until early Saturday morning, agreeing “in principle on a large, ground-breaking package of amendments” to the IHR, according to a WHO media statement.
“These amendments build on over 300 proposals made by countries following the COVID-19 pandemic. They aim to improve countries’ ability to prepare for, detect, and respond to Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEICs). This package will be presented to the World Health Assembly (WHA),” the statement said.
WGIHR members are set to meet again this week to finalize a few remaining issues. Disagreements on technology transfer and finances have delayed the conclusion of the process.
WGIHR co-chair Ashley Bloomfield hopes to reach an agreement on what to present to the WHA. However, finding time is challenging as many members are also part of the INB.
‘Robust’ IHR Amendments
“Amending the International Health Regulations reflects the critical need to bolster our collective defenses against current and future public health risks while adhering to national sovereignty and respecting equity,” said WGIHR co-chair Dr. Abdullah Assiri.
“We have coalesced around a robust set of amendments that will make international cooperation more effective and easier to implement.”
The IHR, first adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1969 and last revised in 2005, manage public health outbreaks and emergencies. All 194 WHO Member States, plus Liechtenstein and the Holy See, are parties to the IHR.
“The International Health Regulations have served the world well for nearly 20 years. However, our collective experience with multiple public health emergencies, including the COVID-19 pandemic, has shown areas for improvement,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“Countries have come together around improved international mechanisms to protect everyone from epidemics and pandemics, with a commitment to equity and solidarity.”
Amending the IHR and developing a pandemic agreement are complementary processes.
“The IHR focuses on building countries’ capacities to detect and respond to public health events with international dimensions, while the draft pandemic accord focuses on a coordinated international response to pandemics, with equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics at the center,” according to the WHO.
