WHO extends pandemic pact talks

World Health Organization member states agreed this week to keep negotiating the last unresolved part of the pandemic agreement they adopted in 2025, after missing a deadline to finish rules on pathogen access and benefit sharing. The decision leaves the agreement without the annex that would govern how pathogens and genetic sequence data are shared and how resulting benefits such as vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics are distributed. WHO said the outcome could be sent either to the next World Health Assembly in May 2027 or earlier through a special assembly in 2026. The delay comes as the agency is also managing a funding squeeze tied in part to the U.S. withdrawal and broader donor cuts. ### Why is one annex holding up the whole pandemic agreement? The WHO pandemic agreement was adopted by the World Health Assembly on May 20, 2025, after more than three years of negotiations launched in response to COVID-19. But member states left one section unfinished: the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing, or PABS, annex. WHO says that annex is needed to create the framework for rapid sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential and for fair sharing of benefits arising from their use. (who.int) WHO said on May 1 that finalizing the PABS annex is necessary before countries can proceed with signature and ratification of the pandemic agreement. Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called it “the last piece of the puzzle” and said more time was needed to overcome remaining differences. (paho.org) ### What exactly are countries still fighting over? Health Policy Watch reported on May 19 that all member states supported extending the talks, but delegates remained divided over the core exchange at the center of the system: who must share dangerous pathogens, on what terms, and what manufacturers and richer countries must provide in return. The outlet said a draft annex had been expected at the assembly, but negotiators instead delivered a report saying more time was needed. (who.int) Pakistan told the assembly committee that some member states were trying to weaken Article 12 of the pandemic agreement, which it said establishes “equal footing” between sharing pathogens and sharing benefits. The European Union, by contrast, said the system should remain conducive to innovation and research and development for medical countermeasures. South Africa, speaking for African countries, again pressed for legally binding contracts between WHO and manufacturers, according to Health Policy Watch. (healthpolicy-watch.news) ### What is the new “method” delegates are talking about? Colombia proposed a new negotiation “method” after nearly a year of talks failed to close the gaps, according to Health Policy Watch’s earlier reporting on the process. The proposal was aimed at breaking deadlock before the World Health Assembly, but the May 19 committee session still ended with an extension rather than a final text. (healthpolicy-watch.news) WHO’s own account of the May 1 meeting was more procedural. It said member states had made progress and agreed that the Intergovernmental Working Group should continue its work under the mandate set out in Resolution WHA78.1. The agency said the annex could still be completed before May 2027 if a special session of the assembly is called in 2026. (healthpolicy-watch.news) ### How does WHO’s funding crisis affect these talks? Swissinfo reported on May 19 that WHO is responding to health and humanitarian crises while facing major funding constraints. The outlet said the United States, historically the agency’s largest donor, moved in 2025 to withdraw from WHO and froze much of its foreign aid spending, creating an immediate funding gap of roughly $600 million through the end of 2025. Swissinfo said the agency has since been forced to reduce its planned 2026-2027 budget by about 20%. (who.int) Tedros told delegates on Monday that WHO had been through “a difficult period” because of “sudden and steep cuts” to funding. Swissinfo said the broader funding pressure has also been driven by donor governments shifting priorities and reducing overseas aid budgets after the pandemic. ### Why are negotiators still pushing to finish it this year? (swissinfo.ch) WHO has tied the annex directly to the agreement’s implementation, saying countries cannot move to signature and ratification until the PABS text is finished. Health Policy Watch reported that several member states told the assembly committee they believed the annex could still be completed by the end of 2026, even though the formal deadline now runs to the next assembly. (swissinfo.ch) The next formal step is already scheduled. WHO said the Intergovernmental Working Group will hold its seventh meeting in Geneva from July 6 to July 17, 2026, and any completed annex could later be sent either to a special World Health Assembly in 2026 or to the regular assembly in May 2027. (who.int)