The resumed INB12 ended last week on 6th December 2024 after five days of negotiations.
The unelected, unaccountable and largely unknown bureaucrats from the 194 WHO Member States (plus two observer states – the Holy See (Vatican City) and Palestine) given a mandate to negotiate a Pandemic Agreement were unable to reach consensus. Consequently, three years and six days after that mandate, there is still no Pandemic Agreement. However, contrary to what some commentators, may suggest the Pandemic Agreement is not dead.
The Meeting Format
The format for the resumed INB12 differed from all those proceeding it. Each morning the “Relevant Stakeholders” were invited to comment on the particular Articles being discussed by the drafting group later that day.
2/12/24: Articles 9 (Research and development), 20 (Sustainable financing) and 12 (Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System).
3/12/24: Articles 4 (Pandemic prevention and surveillance), 5 (One Health approach for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response), 20 and 9 (which was concluded).
4/12/24: Articles 20, 4 and 12.
5/12/24: Chapter 3 (Institutional arrangements and final provisions), Article 13 (Supply chain and logistics), 13 bis (Procurement and distribution), 11 (Transfer of technology and know-how for the production of pandemic-related products) and 20.
6/12/24: Article 20, Chapter 1 (Introduction) and Chapter 3.
A few examples of the positions of some of the “Relevant Stakeholders”:
“…the agreed text does provide, for the first time in an international agreement, for the introduction of policies for conditions and transparency of public funding for medical research and development. However, Member States, civil society and other organisations must seek to ensure that, when developing and implementing national policies, they include the necessary conditions to ensure the development and access to pandemic related health products.” Drugs for Neglected Diseases Initiatives on Article 9 (Research and development).
“…our key point is that immunisation stands as a cornerstone of the pandemic prevention, preparedness and response safeguarding global health security and boosted resilience. Starting with prevention – immunisation protects people from diseases and fosters population immunity reducing the spread of pathogens and associated public heath risks…a robust pathogen access and benefit sharing mechanism is essential. It will enable a fair, timely and equitable distribution of vaccines and other health related products when major health threats hit us.” Gavi on Article 9 (Research and development) and Article 12 (Access and benefit sharing).
“At this stage of negotiations we feel that you are faced with a critical question on equity. Do you want an agreement that seriously and practically protects the health and economy of everybody on the planet or do you want to protect the financial health of pharmaceutical companies?…on Article 12 would you leave sharing the benefit of pathogens to the whim of pharmaceutical companies demanding that countries share the pathogen data immediately while condemning them to waiting for the goodwill of pharmaceutical companies does not make sense to 80% of the globe.” Oxfam on Article 12 (Access and benefit sharing).
“The industry also has an important role to play in equitable access alongside its role in driving innovation that will create the pharmaceutical products needed to respond to the next pandemic outbreak. A strong intellectual property system is essential for enabling that innovation.” International & Pharmaceutical Manufacturers & Associations on Articles 9, 10 and 11.
“…proposed language in 9.3 offers no concrete obligation for post trial access or for pandemic products with vague terms like ‘promote as appropriate’ and ‘encouraging’ providing no guarantees…Developed countries have yet to show commitment across critical Articles 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 19 and 20…Profits are prioritised over lives as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic.” Third World Network on Article 9 (Research and development).
“How can a legally binding WHO Pandemic Agreement under Article 19 [of the WHO Constitution] ensure equity and better global health when its language resembles a non-binding Article 23 resolution?” Third World Network on the Pandemic Agreement generally.
“Good morning dear survivors of the last pandemic…All I want for Christmas is a Pandemic Agreement.” Four Paws on the Pandemic Agreement generally.
“…as the week draws to a close it’s time to pose and consider what has been achieved. Indeed, a big part of the text have been ‘greened’…the question is would the text provisions protect the people in future crisis? For example, most of the measures critical for equitable access relevant to health technology are in terms of ‘encourage’ or ‘promote’ without concrete committing language.” Oxfam on the Pandemic Agreement generally.
“…to allow for a provision for a multi-lateral mechanism for liability for vaccines when they are urgently needed during a pandemic to prevent delays.” UNICEF on Article 13.
“There is no discussion about real financing, where will the money come from? Third World Network on Article 20.
“Regarding Article 13, a no fault liability compensation mechanism, we request to explain how we are going to finance it and what safeguards we envisage against corporate impunity.” Third World Network on Article 13.
“…however, unions affiliated with Public Services International and all over the world they ask us the positions their governments have adopted in the negotiations and we cannot provide these answers to them. Besides the people inside the room during the negotiations, no-one will ever know what the positions were taken and this is a stain in the multi-lateral processes of the multi-lateral governance of the UN bodies.” Public Services International on the secretive nature of the negotiations.
“Experts say there are 1.7 million currently undiscovered viruses in Amazon birds of which 827,000 could have the ability to affect people so ensuring Member States have the tools to prevent those viruses from spilling over at the earliest stage possible is becoming more and more urgent.” Four Paws on Article 5 (One Health).
“The fact is pandemic threats are no longer rare and shock events. They are a constant and very real danger. Outbreaks of avian influenza, H5N1 in cattle and its spill over to humans and a new strain of m-pox in central Africa sends us a very clear message and one that we ignore at our peril.” Action from Animal Health Coalition on Article 5 (One Health).
“There is some new green text which we are pleased about but it’s important to remember that the Pandemic Agreement is not a colouring book. Substantive provisions on very difficult issues such as equity and access, transfer of technology, intellectual property, and pathogen access and benefit sharing system remain largely absent or, at best, weak.” Medicines Law & Policy on the Pandemic Agreement generally.
“…we have also heard from many negotiators that the issue is not really time but political will.” Pandemic Action Network on the Pandemic Agreement generally.
Many of the Relevant Stakeholder sessions started late due to various informal sessions running over time and the programme of work was regularly amended. Precious Matsoso (co-chair of the INB) acknowledged that it was “a difficult week” and “uncharacteristic in the manner in which we worked, a little bit disruptive, chaotic at times and at worst confusing to some of you.” Perhaps indicative of the desperate desire to reach consensus before the end of the year. It did not happen.
Upon closing of the floor, each morning, the Relevant Stakeholders were directed to leave as the INB moved into “closed session” (i.e. not webcast to the public) with Member States for the substantive negotiations.
In Part 2 of the closing session on 6th December 2024, Mike Ryan (Executive Director of WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme, reporting directly the Director-General of the WHO) made a long statement continuing the WHO’s policy of fear:
“…we’ve been looking at 1652 pathogens amongst multiple viral families and we had hundreds of scientists on-line. We had all the funding donors, major fund research coordinators from all over the world, north and south, discussing the future of research, future financing of research, future strategic investment and research. It was an honour to be able to announce to them that Article 9 had been greened…There are over two hundred institutions, WHO collaborating centres, who are working on developing counter-measures at the viral family level not at the specific pathogen level so that we have work done in all the key viral family areas so we don’t have to start from scratch regardless of what pathogen is next…Today we have unknown diseases in the southern part of DRC. We have m-pox outbreaks out of control in many places, we have measles, meningitis, influenza. The world is awash at the moment. ”
It is perhaps this quote more so than any other that illustrates the vested interests and thus the need to build out the pandemic industrial complex. Similarly, many if not all of the Relevant Stakeholders operations depend, to a lesser or greater extent, on the pandemic industrial complex. In addition to corporate profit, many livelihoods are now dependent on finding pathogens.
The floor was opened to Member States for comment.
“…this is our process, our text, our responsibility to deliver the Pandemic Agreement the world needs so badly.” Australia (on behalf of other Member States, including the UK) on the responsibility the INB has to the eight billion people on the planet who are apparently relying on them to keep them healthy!
“Compromise works best when reciprocated especially if our goal is to create a robust, meaningful and transformative agreement…much work needs to be done to operationalise equity including on key provisions Articles 11, 12, 13 and 13 bis which our group considers critical to our obligations.” Indonesia on behalf of the Group for Equity.
“…rushing towards greening when real consensus has not been achieved may have led to a suboptimal outcome and affect the successful implementation of any eventual instrument.” India on the Pandemic Agreement generally.
“… On financing the global south compromised a lot by reaching consensus…We expect our compromises would be addressed in the provisions…” Bangladesh on behalf of the Group for Equity.
The Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, closed out the resumed INB12 by saying that he believed an agreement can be reached in February and that “perfect should not be the enemy of good.”
Summary
- An acknowledgment that multi-laterally agreements takes years, sometimes decades, and that the INB has thus been an expedited process.
- Article 9 (Research and development): “greened” i.e. agreed.
- Article 20 (Sustainable Financing): progress made.
- Contrary to the repeated claim made by the INB that the negotiating process is “transparent”, an updated official version of the Pandemic Agreement has not been made available since May 2024. Clearly, the process is not transparent.
- Consensus was not reached and thus there will be no Pandemic Agreement prior to the end of 2024, which had been the goal. Some doubt whether agreement can be reached at all bearing in mind the limited number of negotiating days left prior to the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025. This can be summed up b a comment by Third World Network: “…what has been compromised when agreeing text? There is a concern that in the end nothing new is gained.”
- A division between the global south and global north remains primarily in the area of pathogen access and benefit sharing (Article 12) (of course that’s where the profits lie – those who control the genetic sequence of the pathogens controls the profit generated from the “pandemic related products”).
- Equity and access, transfer of technology, intellectual property and pathogen access and benefit sharing remain contentious with agreement some way off.
- Negotiations will resume in February (17th seems to be the suggestion) and time is also set aside in April.
- The goal is to present the agreed Pandemic Agreement to the 78th World health Assemble in May 2025.
Further Resources
https://twn.my/title2/health.info/2024/hi241201.htm
You can watch the publicly broadcast sessions of resumed INB12 here: https://www.who.int/news-room/events/detail/2024/11/04/default-calendar/twelfth-meeting-of-the-intergovernmental-negotiating-body-(inb)-for-a-who-instrument-on-pandemic-prevention–preparedness-and-response
Latest official draft of the Pandemic Agreement: https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA77/A77_10-en.pdf
