Op-ed: India's stakes in the WHO Pandemic Agreement as pathogen-sharing talks drag on
The world signed up to a pandemic treaty in 2025. Why can no country ratify it yet, and what does India want?
Published 8 October 2026. Written by Pratidin from the reports linked at the end; every fact checked by a separate review before publishing. How we work
An article in The Hindu examines India's position in the emerging global regime on pandemics, after a UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response in New York on 25 September 2026. India, represented by Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, backed stronger global preparedness and fair access to vaccines, diagnostics and treatments, while stressing national sovereignty and the 'One Earth, One Health' approach. India's remarks recalled that it supplied 300 million vaccine doses to around 100 countries and two UN entities during COVID-19. The meeting's non-binding political declaration did not win consensus: the United States, which left the WHO in January 2026, rejected it, objecting among other things to a proposed system of sharing virus samples in exchange for access to vaccines and medicines, and the European Union also withheld support.
The centrepiece of the regime is the WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted by the World Health Assembly on 20 May 2025 after more than three years of talks; in committee the day before, 124 countries voted in favour, none objected and 11 abstained. Under it, manufacturers taking part would provide WHO rapid access to a target of 20% of their real-time production of pandemic products. But the Agreement cannot open for signature until an annex on a Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system is adopted, and it enters into force only after 60 ratifications. The annex was meant for the May 2026 Assembly, which instead extended talks; the outcome is now to go to a special Assembly session in 2026 or to the Assembly in May 2027. The dispute centres on the rapid sharing of pathogen samples and genetic sequences and what countries receive in return.
The author argues that India is trying to bridge the Global North and the Global South: it supports coordination but guards national interests. Fault lines run through sovereignty versus cooperation, funding for weak health systems, and whether manufacturers must share vaccines and technology; the EU said technology transfer 'must be voluntary and on mutually agreed terms'. As a large vaccine maker often called the 'pharmacy of the world', India gains from an equitable regime, but its dependence on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is a weakness. The article suggests three paths for India: technical partnerships on One Health and disease surveillance; using platforms such as the Global Initiative on Digital Health; and aligning domestic policy with global equity standards. These are the author's recommendations, not settled policy.
Prelims facts
- The World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement on 20 May 2025; the committee vote was 124 in favour, 0 objections and 11 abstentions.
- The Agreement opens for signature only after the PABS annex is adopted and enters into force after 60 ratifications.
- Participating manufacturers would give WHO rapid access to a target of 20% of their real-time production of pandemic products.
- The UN political declaration on pandemic preparedness of 25 September 2026 failed to win consensus after the US rejected it and the EU withheld support.
- India called for equitable access to vaccines, drugs and therapeutics, with respect for national sovereignty.
Quick recall
- When was the WHO Pandemic Agreement adopted?
- 20 May 2025, at the 78th World Health Assembly.
- Committee vote on the Pandemic Agreement?
- 124 in favour, 0 objections, 11 abstentions (19 May 2025).
- How many ratifications for the Pandemic Agreement to enter into force?
- 60.
- What must happen before the Pandemic Agreement opens for signature?
- Adoption of the PABS annex by the World Health Assembly.
- PABS manufacturers' production target for WHO?
- Rapid access to a target of 20% of real-time production.
- When did the amended International Health Regulations enter into force?
- 19 September 2025.
- New alert level created by the 2024 IHR amendments?
- 'Pandemic emergency', above a PHEIC.
- Who represented India at the UN pandemic meeting of 25 September 2026?
- Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava.
Prelims practice question
With reference to the WHO Pandemic Agreement, consider the following statements:
1. It was adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
2. It will enter into force after ratification by 60 countries.
3. It opened for signature immediately on adoption, with the PABS annex to follow later.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 and 3 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Answer: (a) 1 and 2 only. Statement 1 is correct: adopted on 20 May 2025 at the 78th World Health Assembly. Statement 2 is correct: 60 ratifications are needed. Statement 3 is wrong: it opens for signature only after the Assembly adopts the PABS annex, which is still being negotiated.
Use this in UPSC Mains: previous-year questions
Recurring theme: Global health governance: WHO, pandemic rules and equitable access
Critically examine the role of WHO in providing global health security during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
How to use thisShow how the WHO has responded to its COVID-19 shortcomings with new legal tools, while noting the unresolved equity bargain.
- The World Health Assembly adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement on 20 May 2025, with 124 votes in favour and 11 abstentions in committee.
- Participating manufacturers would give WHO rapid access to a target of 20% of their real-time production of pandemic products.
- The Agreement cannot open for signature until the PABS annex on pathogen sharing and benefits is agreed; talks continue into 2026-27.
- How to use this
Use the PABS negotiations as a current example of how rights over life materials and technology transfer divide developed and developing countries.
- Under PABS, countries would share pathogen samples and sequences in return for a share of vaccines and medicines, with makers targeting 20% of real-time production for WHO.
- The EU insisted that technology transfer 'must be voluntary and on mutually agreed terms', while developing countries want guaranteed vaccines and medicines for sharing pathogens.
Pandemic preparedness depends on strong public health systems, but the question focuses on domestic public healthcare and marketisation.
Mains practice question
The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted in 2025, but its Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing annex remains unsettled. Discuss the main fault lines in the negotiations and India's interests in their outcome. (250 words)
Model answer
The WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted on 20 May 2025 (124 in favour, 11 abstentions in committee), aims at equitable pandemic prevention, preparedness and response. It cannot open for signature until its Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex is adopted.
Fault lines
- Benefits for samples: developing countries want guaranteed vaccines and medicines in return for sharing pathogens; manufacturers resist binding obligations. The draft targets 20% of real-time production for WHO.
- Technology transfer: the EU insists it 'must be voluntary and on mutually agreed terms'.
- Sovereignty: fear of WHO overreach; the US, outside WHO since January 2026, rejected the UN declaration of 25 September 2026.
- Financing: African countries sought significant funding for One Health commitments, while Global North countries resisted binding technology-transfer targets.
India's interests
- As a major vaccine maker, India gains from predictable access rules and benefit-sharing that keep markets open.
- At the UN meeting India stressed equitable access to vaccines, drugs and therapeutics, with respect for national sovereignty.
- Vaccine Maitri-style diplomacy (300 million doses to around 100 countries) strengthens its Global South leadership.
- API import dependence is a vulnerability that equitable supply chains would ease.
Way forward
- Back a balanced PABS with clear benefit obligations and voluntary, incentivised technology transfer.
- Invest in One Health surveillance and domestic API capacity.
- Use digital public infrastructure as a global public good.
A workable PABS annex is the test of whether the lessons of COVID-19 become binding equity rather than goodwill.
The basics
Why this matters
COVID-19 exposed a basic unfairness: countries that shared virus data early were often last in line for vaccines. The world's answer is a new legal regime on pandemics, and its hardest part is still being negotiated. GS2 questions on WHO, global health governance and India's role in the Global South all draw on it.
Two legal pillars
- Binding rules on detecting and reporting outbreaks
- Amended in 2024; amendments in force from 19 September 2025
- Added a 'pandemic emergency' alert above a PHEIC
- 196 States Parties
- New treaty on prevention, preparedness and response
- Adopted 20 May 2025
- Equitable access to vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics
- Needs the PABS annex and 60 ratifications
The International Health Regulations deal with sounding the alarm; the WHO Pandemic Agreement deals with what happens next, especially who gets the products.
The missing piece: PABS
The Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing system is the bargain at the heart of the treaty: countries share samples and genetic sequences of dangerous pathogens quickly, and in return get a fair share of the vaccines and medicines made from them.
- 1A country isolates a new pathogen with pandemic potential.
- 2Samples and sequence data go to a WHO-coordinated laboratory network.
- 3Manufacturers use the material to make vaccines, tests and drugs.
- 4Participating makers give WHO rapid access to a target of 20% of real-time production for countries in need.
How we got here
- May 2025World Health Assembly adopts the Pandemic Agreement; committee vote 124 for, 0 against, 11 abstentions
- September 2025Amended International Health Regulations enter into force
- January 2026United States leaves the WHO
- May 2026Assembly extends PABS talks; outcome to a special session in 2026 or the Assembly in May 2027
- September 2026Eighth round of PABS talks ends; UN political declaration on pandemics fails to win consensus
India's position
India wants equitable access to vaccines, drugs and therapeutics, along with respect for national sovereignty. It also promotes One Health, the idea that human, animal and environmental health are linked, since most new infectious diseases spill over from animals.
Go deeper
In one line: The WHO Pandemic Agreement, adopted in 2025, cannot take effect until countries agree on how pathogens are shared and benefits returned, and India is positioning itself as a bridge between rich and developing countries.
Why it matters for UPSC
GS2 covers international institutions and India's global role; GS3 covers health security. The treaty, its annex and the failed UN declaration of September 2026 are likely Prelims facts and Mains examples.
The core idea
The WHO Pandemic Agreement sets rules for equitable access in future pandemics. Its operational core, the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing system, is still under negotiation, so the treaty cannot yet be signed. It sits alongside the International Health Regulations, amended in 2024, which govern outbreak alerts. India argues for equity with sovereignty and pushes One Health surveillance.
Numbers and dates to remember
- Adopted 20 May 2025 at the 78th World Health Assembly; committee vote 124-0, 11 abstentions.
- Enters into force after 60 ratifications, once the PABS annex is adopted.
- PABS manufacturers: target of 20% of real-time production to WHO.
- PABS outcome due at a special Assembly session in 2026 or the 80th Assembly in May 2027.
- UN High-Level Meeting: 25 September 2026; declaration not adopted by consensus.
- Amended IHR in force 19 September 2025.
Where to go next
- WHO Pandemic Agreement: what the treaty requires and how it comes into force.
- Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing system: the unresolved bargain.
- International Health Regulations: the older, binding alert system.
- One Health: why human, animal and environmental health are linked.
Go deeper: equity, sovereignty and the limits of a treaty without the US
The Global South case. Developing countries argue that the COVID-19 experience proved goodwill is not enough. Under the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing system they want binding returns for sharing pathogens: guaranteed shares of vaccines, tests and drugs, and help to build their own manufacturing. African countries have pressed for funding for One Health commitments. India told the UN meeting it wants equitable access to vaccines, drugs and therapeutics, with respect for national sovereignty.
The Global North case. The EU said the UN text 'crossed red lines' on intellectual property and that technology transfer 'must be voluntary and on mutually agreed terms'. Global North countries have resisted binding technology-transfer targets, and whether private manufacturers should be required to share vaccines remains disputed.
The sovereignty argument. The United States left the WHO in January 2026 and rejected the 25 September declaration, with its CDC Director saying it was 'not in a position to support this text in full'. The WHO Pandemic Agreement itself states that it gives the WHO Secretariat no power to direct national laws or policies, but the fear of overreach shapes the debate.
The bridge role. The Hindu's author argues India can link both camps: it is a vaccine supplier with commercial interests in clear rules, and a developing country with an interest in equity. Its weakness is dependence on imported active pharmaceutical ingredients. The author's suggested tools are technical partnerships on One Health and surveillance, digital health platforms, and aligning domestic policy with global equity standards.
What already works. Even unratified, the treaty sets a reference framework, and the amended International Health Regulations, with a new 'pandemic emergency' alert level, are already in force for most countries.
WHO Pandemic Agreement
The 2025 treaty at the centre of the debate.
In one line: The WHO Pandemic Agreement is a treaty adopted by the World Health Assembly on 20 May 2025 to make the world's response to future pandemics more equitable and better prepared.
What it does
It sets principles and tools for international coordination: equitable and timely access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, a Global Supply Chain and Logistics Network, a Coordinating Financial Mechanism, and a PABS system. Participating manufacturers would give WHO rapid access to a target of 20% of their real-time production. It states that it does not give the WHO Secretariat power to direct national laws or policies.
How it comes into force
It opens for signature only after the Assembly adopts the PABS annex, and enters into force after 60 ratifications.
Why it is in the news
The annex missed its May 2026 target, so the treaty remains unsigned, as the September 2026 UN meeting highlighted.
Where to go next
Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing system
The unresolved bargain that blocks the treaty.
In one line: PABS is the proposed system under Article 12 of the Pandemic Agreement for rapid sharing of pathogens and their genetic sequences, in exchange for fair sharing of the vaccines, tests and medicines made from them.
How it is being negotiated
Resolution WHA78.1 set up an Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) to draft the annex. Talks have run through eight rounds; the eighth ended on 18 September 2026. The core dispute is over the rapid sharing of pathogen samples and genetic sequences and what countries receive in return.
Its roots
The idea extends access and benefit-sharing (ABS) under the Convention on Biological Diversity and its Nagoya Protocol (2010), which treat genetic resources as subject to national sovereignty and fair benefit-sharing.
Why it is in the news
The World Health Assembly in May 2026 extended the talks; the result is now due at a special session in 2026 or at the Assembly in May 2027.
Where to go next
International Health Regulations
The binding outbreak-alert rules that sit beside the new treaty.
In one line: The International Health Regulations (2005) are binding WHO rules that require countries to detect, assess and report public health risks and let WHO declare global health emergencies.
Key features
Under the IHR, the WHO Director-General can declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Countries must maintain core capacities for surveillance and response at borders and within their territory.
The 2024 amendments
WHO Member States adopted amendments by consensus at the 77th World Health Assembly in 2024. They entered into force on 19 September 2025. They add a new, higher alert level, the 'pandemic emergency', for a risk that has become or may become a pandemic, and require countries to set up National IHR Authorities. Of 196 States Parties, 11 rejected the amendments.
Why it is in the news
The IHR handle the alarm; the Pandemic Agreement handles access and equity afterwards.
Where to go next
One Health
Why pandemic prevention starts with animals and ecosystems.
In one line: One Health is an approach that treats the health of people, animals and the environment as interconnected and manages them together.
Why it matters for pandemics
Many emerging infectious diseases are zoonoses that jump from animals to humans, helped by habitat loss, wildlife trade and intensive livestock farming. Watching animal and environmental health, not just hospitals, gives earlier warning.
In the negotiations
African countries sought significant funding for One Health commitments in the pandemic talks, while Global North countries resisted binding technology-transfer targets. India backs the approach and used the phrase 'One Earth, One Health' at the UN meeting in September 2026.
For India
The Hindu's author suggests technical partnerships on One Health and disease surveillance as one of three ways India can shape the regime.
Where to go next
Take the 8 October 2026 quiz: 30 Prelims-style questions with answers