EU negotiator Americo Zampetti warns that ideological polarisation over pathogen access threatens to derail the WHO Pandemic Agreement. On the eve of the eighth round of talks on an annex to the Pandemic Agreement, the European Union’s (EU) chief negotiator has warned that “ideology” is blocking consensus. Negotiators meet at the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) […] Continue reading ->
Under Germany’s tightly constrained draft budget proposal for 2027, the government is set to reduce global health funding substantially. While mandatory assessed contributions to the World Health Organization (WHO) will rise slightly, flexible budgets for pandemic preparedness are planned to be cut by 15.3%.  As part of a broader budget overhaul, the German government is […] Continue reading ->
United Nations member states are almost certain to break the silence on the final draft of the Political Declaration on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR) that was sent to them recently– but likely for all the wrong reasons. Armenia and Rwanda, the co-facilitators of the declaration negotiations, put the “final” text of the declaration […] Continue reading ->
The Pandemic Agreement talks resumed at the World Health Organization’s (WHO) headquarters on Monday, kicking off with a public “debriefing” summarising the incremental progress made during informal talks conducted over May and June, followed by a closed session on existing models for sharing data on pathogens with pandemic potential. Speaking at the opening of the […] Continue reading ->
What’s left to tackle in the PABS talks? As the clock ran out, and then was extended for another year, on negotiations over the Pandemic Agreement’s Annex on Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS), the diplomacy and the nitty-gritty of the issues faced were deeply linked This edition of the Governing Pandemics Snapshot of the Geneva […] Continue reading ->
WHO emergency funds are running low, and global health leaders are concerned about a systemic paralysis in pandemic preparedness. In high-level discussions in Geneva, experts explored the geopolitical rifts, pitting the Global South’s demand to treat pandemic tools as legally binding “public goods” against a European push for market-driven surge financing. As a severe Ebola […] Continue reading ->