Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) have made progress on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex, a key component of the WHO Pandemic Agreement, and today agreed that more time was required to finalize the framework for ensuring a better, more equitable response to future pandemics.
Countries concluded the sixth session of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, which focused on the PABS system. The findings of this study will be presented at the Seventy-ninth World Health Assembly (WHA) later this month. Given the need for further negotiations, the Assembly will be requested to consider continuing the IGWG’s work as mandated by Resolution WHA78.1 and submitting the results to the next Assembly in May 2027, or earlier by a special session of WHA in 2026.
“Real progress was achieved on the PABS annex, and I am sure that through continuing negotiations, issues will be resolved,” stated WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Member States should continue to handle unresolved concerns with haste, since the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if. The PABS annex completes not only the Pandemic Agreement, but also all measures implemented by WHO and Member States in response to lessons acquired from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The PABS system is designed to ensure that diseases with pandemic potential are shared quickly and that the advantages of their use, such as vaccinations, diagnostics, and therapies, are shared fairly and equally. Finalizing the PABS Annex is required before governments can sign and ratify the Pandemic Agreement.
“Finalizing a document of such technical and legal complexity necessitates precision and dedication, both of which the Member States have shown in plenty,” stated IGWG Bureau Co-Chair Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes of Brazil. “We are not there yet, but with an extension of our conversations, we will be there.”
Mr Matthew Harpur, IGWG Co-Chair, stated that WHO Member States have exhibited a strong and ongoing commitment to negotiating a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system annex. The IGWG Bureau is satisfied that we are on the right track in finalizing the PABS annex, which will give the WHO Pandemic Agreement with the structure required to guarantee countries are better and more fairly prepared and protected for the next pandemic.”
The IGWG will have its seventh meeting from July 6 to 17, 2026.
The World Health Assembly ratified the WHO Pandemic Agreement in May 2025 to improve countries’ pandemic prevention, preparation, and response efforts. It also formed an open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) to carry out crucial duties, such as formulating and negotiating the PABS system.