Countries are trying to finalize a global agreement on how to prepare for and avert pandemics by Friday evening, after two years of negotiations triggered by the horrors of COVID-19. Here are five key sections of the draft agreement being discussed by national negotiators at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva, according to a draft seen by AFP: The core of the agreement is the proposed Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System (PABS)—a new platform allowing the swift sharing of pathogen data with pharmaceutical companies , enabling them to quickly start working on pandemic-fighting products. This has been the trickiest part to negotiate.
Developing countries have expressed concerns about handing over data if there is a risk they might be cut off from accessing the resultant vaccines, as was largely the case at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under PABS, countries would commit to rapidly sharing data on emerging problematic pathogens, and that the vaccines and other benefits derived from accessing that information would be shared on a more equitable footing. But while the principle is widely supported, the detail is not.
Countries are debating whether PABS should involve pharmaceutical manufacturers giving 10 percent of their production to the WHO for free for global distribution—for example, to protect frontline health workers worldwide. A further 10 percent could be given to the WHO at a not-for-profit price. Under this section, countries would ta.
