Fri Apr 11 10:40:22 UTC 2025: ## Global Pandemic Treaty Hangs in the Balance
**Geneva, April 11, 2025** – Negotiations on a landmark global agreement to prevent future pandemics are teetering on the brink of failure, with a Friday deadline looming. Five years after the devastating COVID-19 pandemic, and with new threats like H5N1 bird flu and mpox emerging, the World Health Organization (WHO) is pushing for a deal to improve pandemic preparedness and response.
While WHO officials express cautious optimism about progress, key disagreements remain. The sharing of data on dangerous pathogens and the mandatory versus voluntary transfer of technology for vaccine and treatment production are major sticking points. Political will, observers say, is now the primary obstacle.
The proposed Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System (PABS), which mandates participating companies to provide the WHO with a percentage of their pandemic-related health product production, is facing resistance from some producer states.
Although significant progress has been made, China’s mission to the WHO highlighted remaining differences in key articles and urged mutual understanding to reach a meaningful agreement. The possibility of extending negotiations into May remains, with NGOs urging countries to compromise. Delaying the agreement, experts warn, could result in the loss of critical political momentum and leave the world vulnerable to the next pandemic. Even a less-than-perfect agreement is considered preferable to starting negotiations from scratch after another global health crisis.
First Piper 