WHO member states agree to extend pandemic-treaty negotiations for one year after deadlock

WHO member states agreed this week to give themselves another year to finish the last unresolved piece of the WHO Pandemic Agreement: the annex on pathogen access and benefit-sharing. The decision leaves the broader agreement adopted in May 2025 still incomplete, because the annex is meant to set the operating rules for how countries share dangerous pathogens and how benefits such as vaccines, tests and treatments are distributed in return. WHO said member states had made progress but needed more time to finalize the framework. ### What exactly was extended? The World Health Assembly’s work on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing, or PABS, annex was extended for one year after countries missed their original deadline to produce a final text for approval in May 2026. WHO said on May 1 that member states had agreed additional time was needed to complete the annex, and reporting from the assembly this week said countries formally backed that extension. (who.int) The annex is not a side issue. Article 12 of the Pandemic Agreement calls for a system under which pathogens with pandemic potential and related information are shared for public-health purposes, while benefits arising from their use are shared on an “equal footing,” according to WHO’s explanation of the accord. ### Why did talks get stuck on this annex? The dispute centers on the bargain at the heart of pandemic cooperation: who must share pathogen samples and sequence information, under what conditions, and what they receive in return. (who.int) Reuters reported earlier this month that the delay cast doubt on when the treaty could enter into effect, because the talks remain focused on a system meant to ensure countries quickly share pathogens while receiving fair access to resulting medical products. (who.int) Health Policy Watch reported that the annex would govern both the sharing of dangerous pathogens during public-health emergencies and the sharing of benefits produced after manufacturers get access to that material or information. That has made legal wording and operational detail unusually sensitive for both developed and developing countries. (usnews.com) ### What were countries arguing for in Geneva? Malaysia was among the countries pressing for the text to be more explicit. Health Policy Watch reported that Kuala Lumpur said the annex needed clearly defined rights and obligations and had to be workable in practice, not just agreed in principle. Third World Network, which tracked the assembly debate, said developing countries also stressed legal certainty in the system. (healthpolicy-watch.news) Pakistan’s delegate Adeel Khokhar, chairing Committee A discussions cited by Health Policy Watch, said member states supported extending the talks and discussed a possible new method to move negotiations forward. WHO, in its own statement, described the extra time as part of an effort to secure a “better, more equitable” response to future pandemics. (healthpolicy-watch.news) ### Why does this matter beyond treaty procedure? The WHO has tied the unfinished annex to a broader warning that the world remains exposed to future outbreaks. WHO’s pandemic-agreement materials describe the PABS system as a central pillar of the accord, because it is supposed to link rapid pathogen sharing with fairer access to the tools developed from that information. Reuters reported that without agreement on pathogen-sharing rules, the timeline for bringing the pandemic treaty into force remains uncertain. (healthpolicy-watch.news) That keeps one of the main post-COVID governance projects in limbo even after countries adopted the agreement last year. ### What happens next? The Intergovernmental Working Group established by the World Health Assembly in May 2025 will continue negotiating the PABS annex and is now expected to bring it back to member states in 2027. (who.int) WHO said the agreement cannot be opened for signature and ratification until the remaining work assigned by the 2025 resolution is concluded. The next milestone is another year of negotiations under the WHO process in Geneva, with member states trying to settle the annex’s legal and operational terms before the Seventieth-ninth assembly’s successor meeting takes it up again in May 2027. (usnews.com) (who.int 1) (who.int 2)