Countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) have held their seventh Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) meeting to negotiate and draft an agreement to strengthen global pandemic prevention, preparedness and responses.
The INB works to negotiate a pandemic agreement based on the principles of inclusiveness, transparency, efficiency, member state leadership and consensus.
Across two sessions, which ran from 4 to 10 December, governments from WHO’s 194 countries completed the review of the pandemic agreement, which negotiated the text presented by the member state-appointed Bureau of the INB.
At the meeting, delegations from WHO member states discussed several critical elements, including pandemic and public health surveillance, One Health and boosting pandemic preparedness, readiness and resilience in countries.
In the context of equity and the right to health among the guiding principles of the proposed pandemic agreement, governments negotiated the sustainable production of pandemic-related products; the transfer of technology and know-how to produce such items; and a multilateral system for access to pathogens and sharing the benefits derived from them, including vaccines and other pandemic-related products.
As a basis for negotiations, the draft pandemic agreement text advocates the principle of sovereignty of state parties when addressing public health matters, in accordance with the charter of the United Nations and international law, to legislate and implement legislation on their health policies.
The INB curated four drafting subgroups to continue holding informal discussions with member states and to propose text for their respective articles by 15 January 2024, to be considered in preparation for the eighth INB meeting from 19 February to 1 March 2024.
In alignment with the processes set out by governments at a session of the World Health Assembly in 2021, a final draft agreement is intended to be produced by the World Health Assembly in 2024.
Additionally, governments are negotiating amendments to the International Health Regulations for countries to prepare and respond to disease outbreaks and other public health risks.
The proposed amendments from the latest meeting on 7 December are scheduled for consideration and adoption at the next World Health Assembly.