UN General Assembly Set to Vote on Pandemic Prevention Declaration After US Blocks Consensus

A UN High-Level Meeting on pandemic preparedness ended without consensus after the United States and a few other member states objected to the draft Political Declaration, pushing adoption to a formal General Assembly vote expected in December. Key disputes center on pathogen access and benefit sharing rules under the PABS annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement, with developing nations pressing for equitable access to health products and the EU raising concerns about compulsory licensing provisions. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark both urged rapid finalization of the PABS annex to allow full implementation of the 2025 WHO Pandemic Agreement.

The United States and a small number of other countries blocked consensus on the draft text at Friday's UN High-Level Meeting, with the matter now set to go before a General Assembly vote expected shortly before the body wraps up its annual session in December; the delegate for the United States explained that outstanding disagreements — among them the inclusion of terminology without internationally agreed definitions and references to an unfinished negotiation on pathogen access and benefit-sharing within an accord that had not attained international consensus — left the country unable to support the document in its current form. Taking its position a step further, Italy lodged formal reservations regarding the political declaration, clarifying that it had not endorsed either the WHO Pandemic Agreement or the 2024 amendments to the International Health Regulations, citing concerns that both instruments would expand the WHO's remit beyond its original mandate and infringe upon the sovereign prerogatives of member states. Delays of this kind carry a quantifiable cost for all countries when a new disease wave arrives. Readiness, across every metric, continues to fall short of completion. Tedros offered a qualified affirmative, adding that fulfilling the commitment announced that day would determine the outcome, a position that drew backing from former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark, who had previously co-chaired the Independent Panel responsible for a 2021 report assessing shortcomings in global health preparedness and response.

UN General Assembly Set to Vote on Pandemic Prevention Declaration After US Blocks Consensus

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UN General Assembly Set to Vote on Pandemic Prevention Declaration After US Blocks Consensus

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