Center for Health Security Urges the Inclusion of Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) in Pandemic Agreement

February 19, 2024 – Today, Dr. Alexandra Phelan, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, delivered an intervention at the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body meeting for its eighth session to negotiate a pandemic accord.

The speech emphasized the urgent need for Member States to prioritize the inclusion of a pathogen access and benefits sharing (PABS) mechanism in the proposed agreement. Underscoring the importance of reaching an agreement by the time of the World Health Assembly in May, Dr. Phelan invited all states to harness the current momentum and energy to ensure an agreement's success.

The proposed inclusion of PABS in a pandemic accord represents a pivotal opportunity to establish a legal obligation for sharing pathogen samples and sequences, balanced with equitable sharing of benefits, ensuring justice and global health security.

Read the full transcript of Dr. Phelan’s speech here.