KEY POINTS
- WHO Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus has urged countries to conclude negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex to the Pandemic Agreement.
- The Annex is the remaining component needed for the adopted Pandemic Agreement to enter into force.
- The proposed framework seeks to ensure countries that share pathogens can also access vaccines and other essential medical tools during health emergencies.
- Ghebreyesus said COVID-19 exposed inequalities in access to vaccines and other lifesaving supplies, with consequences for lives and the duration of the pandemic.
- He urged delegates to prioritise public health, show flexibility and focus on reaching a workable agreement.
MAIN STORY
The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, has called on member countries to conclude negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement, saying the outstanding provisions are essential to strengthening global preparedness for future health emergencies.
Ghebreyesus made the appeal on Monday at the opening of the ninth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG9) on the Pandemic Agreement, urging delegates to reach consensus on the remaining issues.
The Pandemic Agreement was adopted by WHO Member States in 2025, but its entry into force depends on the completion of negotiations on the PABS Annex.
The proposed mechanism is designed to establish rules for sharing pathogens while ensuring that countries participating in the process have equitable access to vaccines and other medical countermeasures developed from those shared resources.
Ghebreyesus said completing the Annex would help turn existing global health security commitments into an operational framework for coordinated international action.
He pointed to the COVID-19 pandemic as evidence of the consequences of unequal access to medical supplies. According to him, some countries secured more vaccines than they needed while others waited for assistance.
He said the unequal distribution cost lives, prolonged the pandemic and increased the risk of new variants emerging.
The WHO chief also cited the hantavirus outbreak earlier in 2026 and the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as reminders that infectious disease threats can emerge in one country and quickly endanger populations elsewhere.
He said no country could adequately protect itself from pandemics by acting alone.
Ghebreyesus highlighted several initiatives introduced or strengthened after COVID-19, including the Pandemic Fund, the Universal Health and Preparedness Review, the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence, COVAX and the interim Medical Countermeasures Network.
Other initiatives include the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme in South Africa, the Global Biomanufacturing Training Hub in South Korea and the WHO BioHub in Switzerland.
He also cited the Global Health Emergency Corps and collaboration with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to accelerate vaccine development for the ongoing Ebola outbreak.
The WHO Director-General said amendments to the International Health Regulations in 2024 and the adoption of the Pandemic Agreement in 2025 had strengthened the international framework for pandemic preparedness.
However, he described the PABS Annex as the remaining component needed to connect these efforts through a system based on transparency, predictability, mutual responsibility, mutual benefit and trust.
He said the mechanism should ensure that countries sharing pathogens can benefit from the vaccines and other medical tools developed through international research and cooperation.
THE ISSUES
The negotiations centre on a critical question for global health security: how can countries share information and biological materials needed to develop vaccines and treatments while ensuring that the benefits are fairly distributed?
The COVID-19 experience exposed the consequences of unequal access to vaccines and other lifesaving tools. Countries with greater purchasing power secured supplies earlier, while others faced delays.
The PABS Annex is intended to address this imbalance by linking pathogen sharing with access to the medical countermeasures developed from it.
For countries with limited capacity to manufacture vaccines and other essential health products, the proposed arrangement could strengthen their position in future health emergencies. However, the practical value of the framework will depend on the final terms agreed by member countries and how those provisions are implemented.
Ghebreyesus also addressed concerns around national sovereignty, arguing that countries could retain their sovereignty while cooperating to manage threats that cross national borders.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
“The ultimate objective of completing negotiations is to protect people.” – Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“No country can adequately protect itself from pandemics by acting alone.” – Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
WHAT’S NEXT
Ghebreyesus outlined three priorities for delegates: negotiate with the intention of concluding the process, distinguish essential demands from desirable provisions, and put public health first.
He urged countries to demonstrate flexibility on unresolved issues and focus on provisions that would produce meaningful health benefits.
The WHO Secretariat, he said, would continue to support member countries as negotiations proceed.
The immediate task is to reach agreement on the PABS Annex so the Pandemic Agreement can move towards entry into force.
BOTTOM LINE
The PABS Annex will determine how countries share pathogens and access the vaccines and other medical tools developed from them. Concluding the negotiations is therefore central to whether the Pandemic Agreement can deliver a more coordinated and equitable response when the next pandemic threat emerges.
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