WHO extends pandemic treaty talks

WHO member states agreed in Geneva to extend negotiations on the last unfinished part of the pandemic agreement, leaving unresolved the rules for how countries would share dangerous pathogens and the benefits derived from them. The decision keeps open talks on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing, or PABS, annex, which the World Health Organization says is required before the full agreement can open for signature and ratification. The extension was announced on May 1 after a resumed session of the Intergovernmental Working Group, and the issue remains live at the World Health Assembly this week. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said countries had made “real progress” but still needed to bridge outstanding differences. ### 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 the failures exposed by COVID-19. But member states left one central operational piece unfinished: the annex that sets the terms for the PABS system. Under the WHO framework, that annex must be adopted before the full agreement can move to signature and ratification by countries. (who.int) Article 12 of the agreement is meant to create a multilateral system for the rapid sharing of pathogen samples and genetic sequence information, alongside “fair and equitable” sharing of benefits that come from their use. Those benefits include vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics, according to WHO materials and the draft annex text circulated to negotiators. (who.int) ### What are countries still fighting over? The draft annex says the system must recognize states’ sovereign rights over biological resources while also ensuring rapid sharing of pathogen materials and sequence information. It also says benefit-sharing must stand on an “equal footing” with access, a formulation that captures the core political dispute between countries that want fast data sharing and countries that want firmer guarantees on access to resulting products. (who.int) That characterization is drawn from the WHO draft text itself. Brazil’s Ambassador Tovar da Silva Nunes, a co-chair of the working group, said on May 1 that finalizing a document of such “technical and legal complexity” required more time. Matthew Harpur, the other co-chair, said member states had shown “strong and continuing commitment” to finishing the annex. Tedros said the outstanding issues should be handled with urgency because “the next pandemic is a matter of when, not if.” (apps.who.int) ### Why does the timing look more urgent now? The WHO declared on May 15 that the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda was a public health emergency of international concern. In outbreak updates published between May 15 and May 19, the agency said confirmed cases had appeared in both countries and that more than 500 suspected cases and 130 suspected deaths were under investigation as field operations scaled up. (who.int) Tedros told the World Health Assembly on May 18 and 19 that the Ebola outbreak had already spread from the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Uganda. Those developments gave negotiators a real-time example of the problem the annex is meant to address: how pathogen samples and sequence data are shared quickly, and what countries receive in return. That connection is an inference from the timing and subject matter of the negotiations and the outbreak. (who.int) ### What has WHO said about broader pandemic readiness? Tedros said in a February 2 WHO statement that the world is both better prepared and still vulnerable because progress since COVID-19 has been “fragile and uneven.” The same statement said the Pandemic Fund had provided more than $1.2 billion in grants across its first three rounds and helped catalyze an additional $11 billion for preparedness projects in 98 countries. (who.int) WHO says the agreement is intended to strengthen surveillance, health systems, research coordination, local production capacity and financing for future pandemic response. But without the PABS annex, the legal pathway to bring the agreement fully into force remains incomplete. Under the WHO’s overview page, the agreement will enter into force 30 days after 60 countries ratify it — once the annex is adopted and the text opens for signature. (who.int) ### What happens next in the talks? The Intergovernmental Working Group will hold its seventh meeting from July 6 to 17, 2026, WHO said after the May 1 decision in Geneva. The same WHO notice said member states may submit the final outcome either to a special World Health Assembly session later in 2026 or to the next regular assembly in May 2027. (who.int 1) (who.int 2)