WHO Pandemic Agreement — Adoption at 79th WHA

What this countdown tracks

The clock above counts down to the expected adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement and its annex on Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva, anticipated around May 18, 2026. The instrument — the first new legally-binding international health instrument since the 2005 International Health Regulations — codifies pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response obligations among WHO member states.

About this agreement

The WHO Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) was established by the Special Session of the World Health Assembly in late 2021 in response to the global Covid-19 response failures. After 13 formal INB rounds and intersessional meetings, member states agreed the core text of a Pandemic Agreement at the 78th WHA in May 2025, with the PABS annex left for completion in 2025–2026. The 78th WHA resolution mandated that the PABS annex be adopted at the 79th WHA in 2026, alongside which the agreement opens for signature.

The Pandemic Agreement creates a legal framework on pandemic prevention (One Health, surveillance), preparedness (workforce, supply chains, financing through a Coordinating Financial Mechanism), and response (access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics). PABS is the most-contested annex: it would require pharmaceutical manufacturers receiving WHO-coordinated pathogen samples and genetic-sequence data to commit a percentage of their products (drafts have ranged from 10% to 20%) to the WHO at no or low cost during a pandemic.

What changes

After adoption (and once the agreement's ratification thresholds are met):

• A Conference of the Parties (COP) governs implementation.
• A Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System operates alongside the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System.
• A Pandemic Health Emergency Workforce of trained responders is institutionalized.
• A Coordinating Financial Mechanism mobilizes new and additional resources, including from the World Bank Pandemic Fund.
• National pandemic-prevention planning becomes a treaty obligation subject to peer review.

Past milestones

• May 2025: 78th WHA agrees core Pandemic Agreement text; PABS annex deferred.
• November 2024: 12th INB session.
• May 2024: Original deadline missed at 77th WHA.
• December 2021: WHA Special Session establishes INB and mandate.
• May 2003: WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control adopted (the only prior FCWA instrument).

How to follow

Negotiation drafts, INB session reports, and final text publish at who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/pandemic-prevention--preparedness-and-response-accord and on inb.who.int. Coverage from Health Policy Watch, Geneva Solutions, the Lancet, BMJ, STAT, and the Guardian Global Health desk. Hashtag #PandemicAccord standard.

Related countdowns

Pair this with peer health and multilateral pages: G20 Miami 2026, G7 Évian 2026, G20 UK 2027, Davos 2027, and GDPR 10-year evaluation 2028.

FAQ

When is the WHO Pandemic Agreement adoption expected? Around May 18, 2026 at the 79th World Health Assembly in Geneva. Where will it be adopted? Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland. Why does this matter? It is the first new legally-binding global health instrument in over two decades and will reshape pandemic preparedness, vaccine access, and pathogen-sample sharing. Is the United States a party? The first Trump administration withdrew the US from WHO; the second Trump administration's posture on the Pandemic Agreement remains under review.