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3w ago

WHO Member States Finalize Historic Pandemic Treaty

The agreement, centered on equity and collaboration, now awaits adoption at the World Health Assembly in May 2025.

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MD Nicholas Flores, left, helps to remove a plastic protective box that Dr. Bob Canelli, right, used to help perform a tracheostomy on a COVID-19 patient on the ICU floor at Boston Medical Center in Boston on April 30, 2020. Medical staff at BMC have had to adjust the way that they work and protect themselves in light of the coronavirus pandemic that has shook the country. (Photo by Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
W.H.O. readies a pandemic treaty for the future
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Overview

  • After over three years of negotiations, WHO member states have agreed on a legally binding pandemic treaty to strengthen global prevention, preparedness, and response.
  • The treaty establishes the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System (PABS) to ensure rapid data sharing and equitable distribution of vaccines and treatments.
  • Key compromises include voluntary technology transfers under "mutually agreed" terms and a global supply chain to improve access to health products during pandemics.
  • The United States, having withdrawn from the WHO under President Trump, did not participate in the negotiations and is not expected to sign the treaty.
  • The finalized text will be presented for formal adoption at the World Health Assembly in May, while unresolved issues like sanctions language remain under discussion.