PABS deferred: the rise of bilateralism and future of pandemic governance
Nelson Aghogho Evaborhene, Afifah Rahman-Shepherd, Luchuo Engelbert Bain, Shashika Bandara, Arush Lal · The Lancet Global Health · 2026
At the sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 23–28, WHO member states failed to conclude negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex of the Pandemic Agreement adopted in May, 2025.1 Without agreement on the annex, the treaty cannot proceed to signature or ratification. Negotiations will therefore continue towards the 80th World Health Assembly, although only one additional negotiating session has so far been scheduled for July, 2026.