Members of the World Health Organization finalised the draft proposal for the WHO Pandemic Agreement in Geneva on Wednesday. The Agreement, which is three years in the making, aims to strengthen international preparedness and response to future pandemics through coordinated global action.
The Agreement outlines a comprehensive policy framework detailing both binding and voluntary provisions to fortify surveillance, health systems, research and development, regulatory cooperation, access to health products, and financing.
While the Agreement is a milestone in global health diplomacy, its effectiveness will depend on national implementation, sustained political will, multi-sector collaboration, and financial support.
Elements of the agreement include:
– Regulatory Convergence: The treaty emphasises regulatory convergence, harmonisation, and capacity building to streamline access to pandemic-related health products. Specifically, Article 14 promotes expedited regulatory reviews, the adoption of emergency use authorisations (EUAs), regulatory reliance mechanisms, and alignment with international standards.
– Strengthened Immunisation Efforts: Parties commit to enhancing routine immunisation programmes by maintaining high immunisation coverage, timely supplementary vaccinations, public awareness initiatives, and robust supply chains and immunisation systems.
– Investment in Health Workforce: Emphasises substantial investment in training, recruitment, retention, and safeguarding the health workforce to enhance countries’ capabilities to manage health emergencies effectively.
– One Health and Misinformation: The treaty advocates for integrated surveillance across human, animal, and environmental sectors (One Health) and stresses initiatives to boost public health literacy and combat misinformation.
– Technology Transfer: The treaty settled on language promoting technology transfer “as mutually agreed,” which, despite being non-compulsory, allows varied interpretations.
– TRIPS Flexibilities: While not expanding new legal grounds, the treaty underscores Parties’ rights to utilise existing flexibilities under the WTO TRIPS Agreement to protect public health.
– Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS): Establishes a system where countries providing pathogen samples would receive reserved allocations of resultant products. Manufacturers participating must allocate 20% of real-time production to WHO—half as donations and half at affordable pricing.
– Transparency in Procurement Agreements: Encourages Parties to publish terms of procurement agreements at “the earliest reasonable opportunity,” raising concerns around potential impacts on trade secrets and confidentiality clauses.
– WHO-led Global Supply Chain Network: Establishes a Global Supply Chain and Logistics (GSCL) Network under WHO oversight to manage equitable distribution of pandemic-related products. Despite good intentions, concerns persist regarding WHO’s operational capacity for complex global supply chain management.
Given the Agreement’s reliance on language such as “shall endeavour” and “are encouraged,” much will depend on how individual countries interpret and implement its provisions. Crucial implementation details, including the Coordinating Financial Mechanism, will be finalised by the Conference of the Parties (COP), which will convene within one year of treaty ratification by 60 member states.
The draft will now be submitted for consideration to the 78th World Health Assembly – UN’s highest forum for global health – set to begin on 19 May. If adopted, it will be subject to ratification by individual nations.
For further insights or strategic guidance on implications of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, please contact Ryan MacFarlane at [email protected], Eric Obscherning at [email protected] or Héctor Castro at [email protected].
