Efforts to prepare the world for the next major health crisis have hit a standstill, as wealthy and lower-income nations remain divided over how to share both viral data and life-saving medical supplies. Although the World Health Organization (WHO) adopted a landmark pandemic agreement in May 2025, negotiators left the most contentious details for future talks. Following an unproductive eighth round of negotiations in Geneva, experts warn that the agreement remains in limbo while the risk of new outbreaks persists.
At the center of the dispute is the proposed Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing system (PABS), which aims to prevent a repeat of the inequities seen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lower-income countries in the Global South recall how wealthy nations bought up initial vaccine supplies, leaving poorer regions with minimal access. Consequently, these countries are demanding legally binding guarantees: if they share genetic data on newly discovered viruses, they must receive guaranteed access to vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments developed from that data.
In contrast, wealthy nations in the Global North argue that restricting access to viral genome databases could dangerously slow down scientific progress. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese researchers publicly uploaded the virus's genetic sequence within days, allowing global scientists to rapidly design vaccines. Opponents of strict data controls, including policy experts like Amber Scholz of the Leibniz Institute, warn that placing conditions or administrative barriers on raw genetic data creates friction that hinders researchers studying how new pathogens infect human cells.
To bridge this divide, some experts have suggested attaching equity conditions to final commercial products rather than the underlying scientific data. However, legal advisors representing developing nations worry that companies might ignore benefit-sharing terms once they have already accessed the data. Addressing the UN General Assembly, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged member states to find common ground quickly, emphasizing that procedural delays today will cost human lives when the next pandemic strikes.