WHO chief seeks early adoption of pathogen access system

Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing System, as part of the broader Pandemic Agreement that was adopted last year, continues to be the sore point among countries causing hinderance in its implementation. At the ongoing UN General Assembly, India also pushed for fair benefit sharing under the agreement.

“Last year, they adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement – a landmark instrument of international law. The final piece of the puzzle is the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system, which countries are continuing to negotiate,” said Tedross Adhanom Ghabreyesus, director general, WHO, on the high-level meeting on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.

The purpose of the pathogen access and benefit sharing system is to operationalize a system for the timely sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential, and benefits arising from their use. In effect, this will enable research, development and timely and equitable sharing of vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and other health products arising from those pathogens.

According to WHO, adoption of the Annex at the coming World Health Assembly, in May 2027, is necessary for WHO Member States to start national consideration to ratify the WHO Pandemic Agreement.

Despite several meetings, the WHO member states are yet to reach a consensus on how this system will function so that everyone gets to benefit instead of just the developed nations.

“Although differences remain, I am confident that countries will find common ground, just as they did with the Agreement itself,” added Ghabreyesus.

He warned that Covid-19 pandemic exposed and exacerbated fault lines in global health security, and taught the world many painful lessons, and it was essential that the world learns those lessons because “the next pandemic is not a matter of if, but when”’.

The Covid-19 pandemic was the most severe global health crisis in a century that killed at least 20 million people, and wiped more than US$ 10 trillion from the global economy.

The ongoing Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, said Dr Tedross, is a reminder that an outbreak can start anywhere, anytime and pose a threat not only to local communities, but also to neighbouring countries and the world at large.

Therefore, to manage the situation better, WHO established 12 key initiatives to strengthen global health security, in six areas:

To strengthen national capacities, the Pandemic Fund with the World Bank and the Universal Health and Preparedness Review;

To strengthen surveillance and early warning, the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence in Berlin;

To improve equitable access to vaccines and other tools, the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and COVAX; the interim Medical Countermeasures Network; the mRNA Technology Transfer Programme in South Africa, and the Biomanufacturing Workforce Training Initiative in the Republic of Korea;

To encourage international sharing of pathogen samples, the WHO BioHub in Switzerland;

To strengthen international response capacity, the Global Health Emergency Corps;

And to strengthen the international legal framework that governs pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.

The member countries during the high-level meeting stressed on the need for sustained and more equitable investment and action on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR).

Countries agreed that strengthening PPPR is not a health issue alone – it requires a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach, with involvement of communities and all relevant sectors.

Leaders recognized the progress made in the past three years to strengthen global systems to detect, prepare for and respond to pandemic threats, including adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement and amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005), said the WHO statement.

“The Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing System, under negotiation, is critical to unlocking the full potential of the WHO Pandemic Agreement. There is no time to waste,” said Amina Mohammed, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, during the high-level meeting.