On World Health Day, the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is advocating for global unity in combating infectious diseases and is urging prominent global leaders, especially those in Europe, to promote a fair WHO Pandemic Agreement.
This includes a mandatory and enforceable Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) Annex.
World Health Day arrives at a pivotal moment for global health governance.
The Pandemic Agreement, which was adopted in 2025, cannot be signed until the PABS Annex is completed.
This Annex outlines how countries will share genetic sequence data and pathogen samples, as well as how the benefits from their use will be reciprocated within the system.
“At a time when some of the wealthiest nations are retreating from global health leadership, European leaders at both the national and European Union levels have a distinct opportunity and duty to step up.
Europe has long been a proponent of equity and solidarity.
Now is the time to translate those values into action by backing a robust, binding PABS Annex that ensures lifesaving tools are accessible to everyone, everywhere,” stated Daniel Reijer, Bureau Chief, AHF Europe.
With a deadline in May 2026 at the World Health Assembly, AHF, through its Global Public Health Institute, will continue to closely observe negotiations, emphasising that the Pandemic Agreement cannot progress without the PABS Annex.
The Annex must contain binding, enforceable clauses that ensure those who benefit from the system also contribute to it.
This entails obligatory benefit-sharing and relevant technology transfers through binding contracts for participating manufacturers and all commercial users.
Benefits must encompass fair access to vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments; non-exclusive licenses for manufacturers in developing countries during public health emergencies; and annual financial contributions.
AHF opposes a proposed hybrid or “dual-track” system that would permit companies to access pathogen data without obligations, thereby undermining fair benefit-sharing and ultimately weakening the entire system.
Accountability and transparency are crucial.
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