Ahead of the resumed 7th Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB7) meeting next week, we're sharing our latest pandemic agreement update.
Latest developments
In the first part of the INB7 in November, Member States began discussing the draft agreement. The opening session confirmed tensions over non-exclusive licensing and intellectual property (IP) that will likely remain sticky issues and reflect the North-South divide. Equity continued to be a focus, with Equity & Africa Groups highlighting disparities and calling for "common but differentiated responsibilities." Emphasis was also on requests for more results-focused, binding, and actionable language, as well as being explicit on gender and human rights. More here.
Between the INB7 meetings, WHO Member States are discussing specific Articles of the negotiating text in informal subgroups. The INB will likely release an updated draft text after the December INB7. With less than half a year left before the May 2024 deadline, Member States are pressed for time. Accountability remains a weakness in the current draft. In our recent analysis in the Lancet Global Health, we argue the pandemic agreement should commit to specific language on independent monitoring now. Independent monitoring is feasible, viable, and achievable, and could complement state self-reporting and peer review mechanisms already provided for in the current negotiating draft.
For more details on the proposal, please check our recent report and policy brief published with the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH). Read also our joint letter to WHO Member States, developed together with the Independent Panel, the Elders, the Panel for a Global Public Health Convention, the Pandemic Action Network, and co-signed by Rt. Hon. Helen Clark, H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Mary Robinson, Gro Harlem Brundtland and others.