Member States of the World Health Organisation (WHO) have made significant progress on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex, a key component of the WHO Pandemic Agreement aimed at strengthening global preparedness and response to future pandemics.
In a statement on Friday, the organisation said members agreed that more time was needed to finalise the framework for a more effective and equitable global response.
“Countries on Friday concluded the resumed session of the sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) in Geneva, focused on the PABS system. The outcomes will be presented to the World Health Assembly,” the statement read.
“The outcome of this work will be presented to the 79th World Health Assembly later in May, while further negotiations are expected to continue to resolve outstanding issues.”
“Given the need for further negotiations, the Assembly will be asked to consider extending the IGWG’s work and submit the outcome to the next Assembly in May 2027.”
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said real progress was made on the annex. He expressed confidence that continued negotiations would resolve remaining differences and deliver a consensus framework for global health security.
“Member States should continue approaching the outstanding issues with urgency because the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if,” Dr Tedros said.
“The PABS annex is the last piece of the puzzle, not only for the agreement but for all initiatives implemented following lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
He explained that the system would ensure rapid sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential and equitable access to benefits arising from their use, including vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics.
Finalising the annex is essential to enable countries to proceed with signing and ratifying the agreement, thereby strengthening collective preparedness against future global health emergencies.
IGWG Bureau Co-Chair, Amb. Tovar Nunes of Brazil, said completing a document of such technical and legal complexity required precision and dedication, which Member States had consistently demonstrated.
“We are not there yet, but with an extension of our negotiations, we will get there,” Nunes said.
The other IGWG Co-Chair, Mr Matthew Harpur, said Member States had shown strong commitment to negotiating the annex, adding that progress indicated movement in the right direction.
“The IGWG Bureau is confident we are moving in the right direction to finalise the annex and ensure countries are better and more equitably prepared for the next pandemic,” he said.
Harpur announced that the working group would hold its seventh meeting from July 6 to 17, 2026, to continue negotiations and address unresolved technical and policy issues.
He recalled that in May 2025, the World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement to strengthen how countries prevent, prepare for, and respond to pandemics through coordinated global action. The Assembly also established the IGWG to draft and negotiate the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system.
