The Drafting Group of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (WHO CA+) held discussions and informal meetings from 4 – 6 September 2023 in order to advance work on a pandemic accord.
During the meeting, informal meetings of the INB Drafting Group discussed the following articles of the INB Bureau’s text: Article 4 (Pandemic prevention and public health surveillance) and Article 5 (Strengthening pandemic prevention and preparedness through a One Health approach) (jointly) co-facilitated by India, United Republic of Tanzania and the United Kingdom; Article 9 (Research and development) co-facilitated by Mexico and Norway; Article 11 (Co-development and transfer of technology and know-how) co-facilitated by Colombia, the Philippines and Saudi Arabia; Article 12 (Access and benefit-sharing) co-facilitated by Australia and Ethiopia; and Article 13 (Supply chain and logistics) co-facilitated by Indonesia and Pakistan.
The INB will hold additional co-facilitated informal meetings of the drafting group on Articles 4 and 5 (jointly), 11, and 12 by 22 September 2023, when the INB Drafting Group will resume its work to take stock of progress achieved through these informal meetings.
The INB Bureau will develop a proposal for negotiating text of the WHO CA+ for the consideration of the INB at its next meeting, based on the discussions of the INB from its fourth, fifth, and sixth meetings, as well as the meeting of the INB Drafting Group, including its informal meetings, and the reports of the co-facilitators of those informal meetings. It was agreed that the proposal for negotiating text would be without prejudice to the right of any Member State to present textual proposals and to the status of the compilation document.
It was decided that the seventh meeting of the INB will take place from 6-10 November and will resume from 4-6 December 2023, to allow the presentation and consideration of the negotiating text of the WHO CA+.
