Pandemic Agreement negotiations go into extra time

Negotiations for a new pandemic treaty, originally slated to conclude on Friday (10 May) before the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) on 27 May, are set to continue both in person and in a hybrid format in hopes of producing a new text and soon.

A senior World Health Organisation (WHO) official told Euractiv: “It’s quite a new initiative, it’s not easy to get done, but there has been progress. People came to the table with different interests; there’s convergence in many areas, but they need more time to try to get it across the line.”

The European Union has led the way in calling for a new international treaty for pandemic preparedness and response.

Speaking at the Paris Peace Forum on 12 November 2020, European Council President Charles Michel called for a stronger international health framework with the WHO as the coordinating authority, to “learn the lessons of the pandemic” and “be able to act more quickly and in a more coordinated way.”

Negotiations are led by the International Negotiating Body (INB) of WHO member states, which are separate from, but supported by WHO in their work. The body is co-chaired by Precious Matsoso from South Africa, and Roland Driece from the Netherlands.

Optimistic

Negotiators remain optimistic that a deal can be reached, but if no consensus is reached a report on what should happen next would still be put before the WHA. In the event of failure, this could involve the creation of an additional WHA later in the year.

Matsoso said progress had been made during this latest round of discussions on a wide range of issues as contained in the draft agreement, but stressed that it is not a simple exercise.

“This is the first-ever process to develop an agreement on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. Getting this done means getting it right, and the INB Bureau is committed to finalising a meaningful and lasting agreement.”

Critical issues

In a press release, the INB identified a few critical issues that still required resolution.

Article 12, on pathogen access and benefits sharing (PABS), remains one of the most contentious issues, with particular concern among developing countries. 

In the current draft, 10% of diagnostics, therapeutics, or vaccines derived from shared pathogens should be provided free of charge and at 10% for not-for-profit prices, during public health emergencies.

Republican US senators have accused the WHO of posing a threat to sovereignty, but in relation to PABS, the proposal is for the WHO to conclude legally binding contracts with manufacturers of vaccines, treatments, and diagnostics.

The current draft also contains further assurances that the agreement is not a threat to sovereign decisions. Specifically, Article 24 of the current draft explicitly rules out the WHO having any authority to direct, order, or alter domestic laws, or to mandate any requirements, such as vaccine mandates, travel bans, or lockdowns. 

“The main discussions now are about getting the fundamentals right [in the Pandemic Agreement],” said the WHO source.

“An instrument [for PABS] can be developed over a couple of years.” To get an idea of where the landing zone may lie, there are existing agreements on similar provisions under the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) framework. 

At the same time as the pandemic agreement negotiations, there is a parallel process to amend WHO’s International Health Regulations, which is coordinated by a separate working group meeting on 16-17 May, which will also present its conclusions to the WHA.

The EU wants to ensure that there are no contradictions between what is agreed in the pandemic agreement and the amended WHO health regulations, which are also aimed at bolstering global defences in the face of public health emergencies.

The intergovernmental Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) will resume negotiations later this week.

[Edited by Alice Taylor]

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