WHO Convenes Seventh IGWG Round on Pandemic Agreement's PABS Annex

The WHO's Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) opened its seventh session (6-17 July 2026, hybrid format in Geneva) to continue drafting the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement, after member states extended the deadline past the Seventy-Ninth World Health Assembly in May. Sharp divisions persist between the Africa Group and Group for Equity, which want binding benefit-sharing obligations on manufacturers, and industrialized countries including EU member states, which favor more flexible commitments. The outcome is now expected to be submitted to the Eightieth World Health Assembly in May 2027.