Spark Street Advisors

Today at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Day 2 of “Round 11” of the #PandemicAccord negotiations started with a summary of the previous day’s closed sessions. This is a new practice for the bureau to include stakeholders (at least) at the beginning of each day. Stakeholders were also allotted time to comment to inform the rest of the day’s closed-door negotiating sessions on Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing (PABS).   The Co-Chair’s overview didn’t get into the details of the previous day’s closed talks. She explained that states had discussed streamlining the process and had begun reviewing green, yellow, and white text to see where they could be most effective and potentially propose new text.   A stakeholder questioned adopting a streamlined approach to expedite talks, suggesting that now is the time to examine issues fully rather than park them for the future. The co-chair responded that this process is intended to keep the talks progressing while also allowing for discussion of details.   A handful of stakeholders spoke on PABS, including on the feasibility of tracing material & data, open access, the need for stockpiles, licensing & diversifying production. One stakeholder asked for a reference to PABS in articles on surveillance & #OneHealth because of their interrelatedness.

Check out our Spark Street Advisors recap of the #PandemicAccord discussion that resumed this week at the World Health Organization in Geneva. They would have to reach an agreement by 12 November to get the draft over the line by the end of 2024.

Check out our Spark Street Advisors Day 2 recap of the Expert Consultation for the #PandemicAccord. Issues discussed included a treaty complementary with the International Health Regulations (#IHR) and OneHealth.

Nina Schwalbe shares her thoughts in my latest article: Pandemic agreement negotiations get 'a solid zero' for transparency.

Please find the update and summary from Spark Street Advisors on the 10th meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body for a #PandemicAccord. There was a strong push to conclude negotiations by the end of 2024 and a disappointing decision to exclude relevant stakeholders from observing the negotiations.

Check out Spark Street Advisors' recent update on the "State of Play" of #PandemicAccord Negotiations at the World Health Organization. Discussions will continue next week.