Member states of the World Health Organization (WHO) finalized a historic agreement to prepare the world for future pandemics, following negotiations that spanned over three years. The agreement calls for technology transfers to be incentivised through regulations, licensing agreements, and favourable financing conditions. Meanwhile, it includes a compromise that any transfer must be mutually agreed upon.
The draft also proposes steps such as establishing a pathogen-access and benefit-sharing system. It includes a One Health approach for pandemic prevention and the setting up of a global supply chain and logistics network. The proposal will now be considered before the World Health Assembly next month. The Pandemic Agreement maps out measures to thwart pandemics and bolster global collaboration, following the chaos seen during the COVID-19 outbreak. One contentious point during the negotiations was Article 11, which deals with the transfer of medical technologies to developing nations.
