Talks between WHO member states on a landmark global accord on handling future pandemics will roll into 2025 after countries decided Monday there were too many gaps to seal a deal this year. The key faultline in the negotiations lies between Western nations with major pharmaceutical industry sectors, and poorer countries who do not want to be sidelined when the next pandemic strikes. The emergence of a new strain of mpox, the deadly Marburg virus outbreak in Rwanda and the spread of H5N1 bird flu in recent months have given the talks process a timely jolt.
The negotiations, which kicked off in February 2022, are being held at the World Health Organization's headquarters in Geneva. The WHO's 194 member states "think they still have work to do", talks co-chair Anne-Claire Amprou told a press conference. "Today member states agreed we need to conclude the agreement as soon as possible, and continue negotiations into 2025, with the goal of concluding the agreement by the next World Health Assembly scheduled in May.
"We are moving in the right direction," she insisted. In December 2021, fearing a repeat of the devastation wrought by COVID-19 -- which killed millions of people, crippled health systems and crashed economies -- countries decided to draft a new accord on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. While much of the draft text has been agreed, disputes remain over some key provisions, notably over sharing access to pathogens with pandemic potential -- and then equi.