Governments around the world have agreed to continue advancing a proposed pandemic agreement, keeping alive a high-stakes diplomatic effort aimed at preventing a repeat of the devastation caused by COVID-19. Meeting at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, negotiators said they would resume hybrid and in-person discussions in the coming weeks to further refine the draft ahead of the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly, which begins on 27 May 2024.
The latest round of talks underscores both the momentum and the difficulty of a process that has stretched on for more than two years. At issue is a proposed international instrument that would strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, while also addressing some of the most politically sensitive questions exposed by the coronavirus crisis: how countries share access to pathogens and the benefits that come from them, including vaccines, treatments and diagnostics; how to better prevent outbreaks through a One Health approach that links human, animal and environmental health; and how to coordinate financing so countries can build the capacity needed to detect and respond to future threats.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the decision to keep moving forward, framing the negotiations as a once-in-a-generation chance to correct the failures laid bare by COVID-19. "During more than two years of intensive negotiations, WHO's Member States have shown unwavering commitment to forging a generational agreement to protect the world from a repeat of the horrors caused by the COVID-19 pandemic," he said. "I welcome the determination that all countries have shown to continue their work and fulfill the mission on which they embarked."
The talks are being led by the Member State-driven Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, or INB, which was established more than two years ago to shepherd the process. The INB Bureau, which is guiding the negotiations, will submit the outcome for consideration at the World Health Assembly, where WHO's 194 member states are expected to assess the draft and decide the next steps.
INB Bureau Co-Chair Dr Precious Matsoso of South Africa said the latest discussions had produced progress across a wide range of issues in the draft agreement, while acknowledging the scale of the task still ahead. "We are witnessing history play out before our eyes during this process, with the coming together of all countries to decide a binding pact to protect all citizens of the world," she said. "This is not a simple exercise. This is the first ever process to develop a proposed agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Getting this done means getting it right, and the INB Bureau is committed to help finalize a meaningful, lasting agreement."
Her fellow co-chair, Roland Driece of the Netherlands, said the negotiations were always expected to be ambitious, given the global emergency that prompted them. "This unprecedented effort by all WHO Member States was launched in response to an unprecedented global emergency – the COVID-19 pandemic," he said. "These sovereign states did so recognizing that great collaboration and coordination were needed in the face of pandemics. While negotiations have been challenging at times, all countries agree that the world must be better prepared for the next pandemic. It is not a matter of if a pandemic will happen again; it is a matter of when. We cannot afford to miss this historic opportunity to make the world safer from the next pandemic threat."
The agreement now under discussion has its roots in the political shock of the pandemic, which exposed deep inequities in access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments, and revealed how quickly national systems can be overwhelmed when a novel pathogen spreads across borders. In March 2021, heads of state and government from two dozen countries issued a statement calling for stronger global collaboration to prepare for, prevent and respond to pandemics. That call was followed in December 2021, when WHO member states decided to launch a formal global process to draft and negotiate a legally binding convention, agreement or other international instrument.
Since then, the negotiations have become a test of whether governments can translate the lessons of COVID-19 into enforceable international rules. Supporters argue that a binding pact could help prevent the scramble, fragmentation and inequity that marked the early pandemic response by setting clearer obligations for surveillance, preparedness, information sharing and equitable access to medical countermeasures. But the process has also had to navigate longstanding tensions over sovereignty, intellectual property, financing and the distribution of responsibilities between wealthier and lower-income countries.
The decision to continue work ahead of the World Health Assembly suggests that, despite those divisions, governments still see value in pursuing a common framework. The coming weeks will be crucial as negotiators try to narrow remaining gaps and produce a text that can command broad support. Whether they can do so may determine not only the fate of the draft agreement, but also how prepared the world will be when the next pandemic threat emerges.