The World Health Organization adopted a pandemic agreement in May 2025 intended to strengthen global preparedness for future health crises. However, countries deferred key implementation details to secure initial approval, and those contentious issues remain unresolved following multiple negotiation rounds over the past year and half.
At the center of the ongoing dispute is the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing annex, which would establish how countries share virus samples and genetic data internationally. The core tension reflects divergent priorities: lower-income countries seek guarantees that sharing pathogen information will result in equitable access to any resulting vaccines, drugs, or tests, pointing to disparities during the COVID-19 pandemic when wealthy nations secured vaccine supplies while developing countries faced shortages. Wealthy nations, conversely, prioritize rapid data access and unrestricted scientific analysis to accelerate product development during health emergencies.
Wealthy countries propose a centralized database allowing scientists worldwide to quickly access and analyze pathogen data, arguing that restrictions would impede the speed necessary for pandemic response. Lower-income countries counter that without contractual guarantees tied to data access, they risk repeating historical inequities. Some proposals include placing pathogen data in restricted databases accessible only through WHO registration and contracts mandating reduced-cost product availability for disadvantaged nations, similar to existing influenza preparedness mechanisms.
Middle-ground proposals have emerged, such as attaching equity requirements to products derived from pathogen data rather than to the data itself. However, disagreement persists on whether such arrangements would adequately protect lower-income nations’ negotiating power. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has urged countries to resolve differences urgently, warning that further delays compound risks when the next pandemic emerges.
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