WHO Set to Finalize Landmark Pandemic Agreement

In a unified effort to bolster global preparedness for future pandemics, World Health Organization (WHO) Member States are poised to resume negotiations on what could be the world’s first pandemic agreement.

The historic step, aimed at being finalized from 29 April to 10 May, concludes two weeks of intensive discussions.

The ninth session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB9), which commenced on 18 March, laid the groundwork for what WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus calls “a historic agreement in time for the World Health Assembly.”

He expressed gratitude towards Member States for their commitment to safeguard future generations against the kind of suffering experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The upcoming INB9 session is set to be a pivotal moment before the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly, beginning on 27 May 2024, where the agreement will be up for adoption.

Dr. Precious Matsoso, INB Bureau Co-Chair, underscored the urgency and necessity of the agreement, emphasizing that failing to finalize it would be a failure to humanity itself.

Echoing the sentiment, fellow INB Bureau Co-Chair Mr. Roland Driece highlighted the critical nature of reaching consensus for a world more resilient against pandemics.

The drafting process has been extensive, involving the INB established during the Special Session of the World Health Assembly in December 2021, other United Nations system bodies, non-state actors, and inputs from the public.