The World Health Organization’s global pandemic treaty, adopted in May 2025, remains in limbo as member states have yet to finalise critical rules on pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS). The treaty cannot come into force until consensus is reached on how quickly countries must share pathogen samples and data, and how vaccines, tests, and treatments derived from such data will be equitably distributed.
WHO member states extended negotiations on the PABS annex on 1 May 2026 due to continuing disagreements, according to a Reuters report. The contentious issue centers on balancing the urgency of rapid and open pathogen data sharing with binding guarantees that benefits arising from this data will be fairly shared, especially with lower-income nations.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus emphasised the urgency of resolving the impasse at a high-level meeting on 25 September 2026, urging countries to “get PABS done, as soon as possible.” Similarly, Mrs Amina Mohammed, speaking on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres, called the PABS system “critical to unlocking the full potential of the WHO Pandemic Agreement,” warning that “there is no time to waste.” These comments underline the importance of finalising the treaty’s last major hurdle for global pandemic preparedness.
The agreement’s broader provisions were adopted in May 2025, but delegates deliberately delayed the hardest details on pathogen sharing until later, reflecting the difficulty in finding common ground. Suerie Moon, co-director of the Global Health Centre at the Geneva Graduate Institute, characterised the treaty as “really in a state of continued limbo,” reflecting ongoing uncertainty over when the pact might enter into force.
Member states have agreed to continue negotiations on the PABS annex through to the next World Health Assembly in May 2027, with the possibility of a special session later in 2026 if needed. Until these negotiations conclude and the treaty is ratified by national governments, the pandemic agreement will remain stalled, limiting the international community’s ability to act collectively ahead of future pandemics.
Finalising the PABS annex matters for South Africa and countries across the Cape Flats because equitable sharing of pathogen-derived medical resources can directly influence access to vaccines and treatments in a future crisis. Delays risk prolonging global vulnerabilities that affected the Western Cape and beyond in prior pandemics.
The exact legal status of the treaty remains unclear, with sources confirming it was adopted but not verifying whether it has been formally signed in the strict legal sense, highlighting a potential technical complexity following the postponed PABS agreement.
CapeFlats.co.za will continue monitoring developments as WHO member states prepare for the World Health Assembly in May 2027, when the disputed provisions must be revisited. Until then, the pandemic treaty remains stalled, underscoring ongoing global challenges in balancing fair access with urgent health security needs.