The WHO pandemic agreement: Equity for developing states or business as usual?

At 3am on Wednesday 16th April 2025, after three years of intense negotiations, WHO member states (minus the United States) preliminarily consented to a final text of the so-called Pandemic Agreement. The text will now be considered for final adoption at the upcoming World Health Assembly meeting in May 2025, where – barring any major upsets – it is expected to be adopted. At a time when global news is replete with breakdowns in multilateralism and the ripping up of international law rulebooks, this decisive step towards a new accord on pandemic prevention and response has been hailed by the WHO Director-General as a reminder that “multilateralism is alive and well”, demonstrating that “in our divided world, nations can still work together to find common ground, and a shared response to shared threats”. This blog post provides some reflections on the ostensible achievements of the Pandemic Agreement and the main sticking points raised until the final hours of negotiation.