Landmark pandemic treaty adopted despite pushback by some countries

World Health Organization member states adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement on Tuesday, after more than three years of negotiations. The adoption follows a committee meeting, where the majority of WHO member states voted in favor of adopting the treaty in a meeting in Geneva that stretched late into the evening on Monday. In a vote called for by Slovakia at the 78th World Health Assembly, 124 countries voted in favor of the resolution to adopt the long-awaited pandemic treaty — a sweeping effort to fix the global failures exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The treaty aims to ensure the world is in a better position to prevent, prepare, and respond to pandemics, addressing issues in the response to COVID-19, particularly the inequities in access to lifesaving medical interventions. In a statement, Helen Clark, the former prime minister of New Zealand and co-chair of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, said member states should consider the agreement “a foundation from which to build starting today.” “Many gaps remain in finance, equitable access to medical countermeasures, and in understanding evolving risks. Don’t wait to get started. Dangerous pathogens are looming, and they certainly will not wait,” she said. Multiple disagreements, including around technology transfer and funding, and questions surrounding equitable access to medical products, had stretched the negotiations for years. There are also groups and countries that are wary of the treaty giving WHO powers to impose measures such as masking and vaccinations, undermining countries’ sovereignties, even though WHO has repeatedly said there’s no such thing in the draft text of the agreement. In April, countries finally made a breakthrough, reaching a consensus text for adoption at WHA. But on Monday, during a WHA committee session to adopt the resolution for the agreement, a few countries still expressed reservations on the text. Iran said the text “falls short” in addressing the priorities of low- and middle-income countries and raised concerns that it does not ensure countries have “unhindered and equitable access” to lifesaving medical products. Slovakia said the text does not sufficiently address its concerns to protect human rights and national sovereignty and called for a vote on the resolution, veering away from the typical WHA practice of deciding by consensus. Of the 181 member states entitled to vote, a total of 124 member states voted in favor of the resolution, easily reaching the required two-thirds majority, leading to a round of cheers in the room. No one voted against the resolution, but 11 countries abstained from voting. Forty-six countries were absent. Though the agreement is now adopted, that is not the end of the process. Following WHA, another intergovernmental working group will negotiate the details of the pathogen access and benefit sharing system, or PABS — this links the sharing of pathogen data to benefits such as access to vaccines and treatments made using that data, which several countries consider an integral part of the agreement. Some are hopeful that negotiations on PABS, which will serve as an annex to the agreement, will conclude within a year. This is needed before the agreement can come into effect. “We are hopeful that the spirit of compromise that led to the agreement will be sustained as we conclude the PABS Annex in time for May 2026. Without the PABS Annex, the agreement is considerably weak,” the delegate from Guyana said.