WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the Sixth Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) on the WHO Pandemic Agreement – 23 March 2026

Co-Chairs Ambassador Tovar and Mr Harpur.

Vice-Chairs Ambassador Dlamini, Dr Hanan, Ms Heyward, and Dr Viroj.

Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,

Welcome back for what we all hope will be the final meeting of the IGWG before the 79^th World Health Assembly.

Next Monday will mark five years since the publication of the op-ed co-authored by me and 27 heads of state and government, calling for an international treaty on pandemic preparedness.

Five years ago, we began a journey, and now we can see the destination.

We're so close - but of course, we're not there yet.

I was reflecting on where we were a year ago - we were here, in this room, for many late nights while negotiators worked to agree on Article 12 of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.

While the INB worked, the 78^th World Health Assembly was approaching and there were some who doubted that an agreement could be reached in time because the positions were perceived to be too far apart.

But it's you, the negotiators who dedicated the past almost five years to this process, that made the WHO Pandemic Agreement a reality last year.

The situation now is similar, but I am confident that the outcome will be the same.

I believe that you will reach agreement on the PABS Annex in the coming days.

The PABS Annex will operationalize key elements of the Pandemic Agreement: the rapid and timely sharing of pathogen information; and the timely and equitable sharing of benefits.

We must get this done. The next pandemic will not wait.

The conflict in the Middle East and crises elsewhere in our world are reminders that health emergencies can erupt suddenly and affect multiple countries, increasing the risk of disease outbreaks.

A commitment to upholding international law, multilateral solutions and strong international collaboration to shared threats has never been more needed.

Right now, this week, is the best chance - and probably the only chance - to secure an outcome on PABS.

All delegations need to ask themselves: "Can I live with this?"

You must also ask whether this text will solve the problems we faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Will it deliver timely and equitable access to pathogens and benefits?

If there are parts of the text where the answer is no, you must ask yourselves what needs to change, and how you can bring others with you on that change, across regions and groups.

Now is the time to bring solutions, not to reinsert text that will not help to build consensus.

There is a dangerous temptation to think more time might mean a better outcome.

We must be realistic: more time will not change fundamental positions, and it will not enable every detail of the PABS System to be set in stone in the treaty.

More time would mean trying to continue negotiations in an increasingly unfavourable climate - this will get harder, not easier.

We need to do everything in our collective power to finalise the Annex so we do not waste the last four-and-a-half years of lessons learning and consensus finding.

If we don't, we are left with the status quo - no PABS System, and a Pandemic Agreement that exists only on paper.

Your work this week will determine the future of the WHO Pandemic Agreement - will it move to signature and ratification?

Or will it remain an aspiration that doesn't see the light of day, ahead of the next big disease threat?

You hold the answer in your hands.

I've heard some of you say that Article 12 and the PABS Annex are the heart of the WHO Pandemic Agreement. Now is your opportunity to bring a beat to that heart, bring it to life.

Thank you for your continued commitment to fulfilling the promise of the WHO Pandemic Agreement.

Excellencies, colleagues, believe in the power of trust - trust in one another and in our institutions, and in our ability to transcend differences for the common public good, for solidarity and for equity.

I thank you.