Aids Healthcare Foundation (AHF Nigeria) has urged World Health Organisation (WHO) Member States to finalise a strong, binding Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement ahead of the resumed sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group (Part B) session in Geneva from April 27 to May 1.

Adopted in May 2025, the WHO Pandemic Agreement cannot advance without the PABS Annex, which governs how pathogen samples and genetic data are shared, and how resulting benefits, including vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments, are equitably returned.

The upcoming negotiating session, the last scheduled opportunity to finalise the Annex before the World Health Assembly in May, comes at a critical moment, with key equity provisions still unresolved.

Without a strong, enforceable agreement, the world risks repeating the failures of COVID-19, when inequitable access to lifesaving tools left many countries behind. The outcome of these negotiations will determine whether future pandemic responses, Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC).

And interpandemic periods (no widespread global outbreak, but public health systems remain alert, monitoring diseases, strengthening preparedness, and preventing potential future pandemics) are driven by equity and cooperation—or by delay, exclusion, and inequality.