Letter – Civil Society Calls for an Equitable PABS Annex Ahead of IGWG6

Dear African Leaders and Negotiators,

Negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement are entering their final and most consequential phase. With the sixth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG 6) representing the last opportunity before the May 2026 deadline, we urge African leaders and negotiators to seize this moment — not only to finalise the PABS Annex, but to conclude the Pandemic Agreement as a whole and move it decisively toward ratification.

The stakes could not be higher. The Pandemic Agreement represents a major multilateral achievement, formalising commitments across the full spectrum of pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response — areas central to Africa’s health security. The focus must now shift toward implementation, particularly in view of the upcoming UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR), which provides an opportunity to translate commitments into concrete action.

We encourage African delegations to continue pressing for a robust PABS framework grounded in equity and legal certainty — one that ensures predictable and meaningful benefits for countries that contribute pathogen data and materials. Any agreement must preserve the core equity objectives that have guided these negotiations from the outset.

Experience with other access and benefit-sharing systems shows both the importance and the complexity of translating principles into effective practice. Some mechanisms have struggled to deliver benefits at scale, while others have operated in more limited and specialised contexts. These experiences highlight the importance of building a PABS system with strong foundations and clear mechanisms for regular evaluation and improvement. The medical R&D landscape is dynamic, shaped by technological advances, market incentives, and geopolitical realities that no agreement can fully anticipate.

A PABS system built on strong foundations — anchored in equity, accountability, and transparency, and supported by mechanisms for regular evaluation and improvement — will ultimately prove more durable and effective over time. Ensuring that PABS enters into force with strong equity safeguards and a clear pathway for strengthening the system is preferable to allowing negotiations to stall and delay implementation.

Finding landing zones in the negotiations will require sustained engagement across regional groups and a genuine understanding of the concerns and constraints that different delegations bring to the table. We encourage African delegations to maintain and deepen cross-regional dialogue to identify areas of convergence and build the political conditions necessary for a final agreement.

Given the multidimensional nature of PABS, we encourage African governments to deploy commensurate technical capacity to IGWG 6. Bringing experts from across relevant ministries, agencies, and technical institutions will strengthen the delegations’ ability to engage substantively across the full range of issues under negotiation.

We, civil society organisations from across Africa, remain firmly behind Africa and the Equity Group in their pursuit of a transformative, enforceable, and equitable outcome. African civil society has developed significant expertise in pandemic preparedness, access and benefit-sharing, and global health governance, and stands ready to support you through technical analysis, policy inputs, evidence generation, and coordination support in the lead-up to and during IGWG 6.

Sincerely,

1. Action Group for Health HIV/AIDS
2. Action Santé
3. Africa Climate and Health Alliance (ACHA-Africa)
4. Agathe Wehrli Mentoring Chair (AWMC – LWI)
5. Asegis Community Network
6. Association Burkinabé d’Action Communautaire (ABAC/ONG)
7. Association for Promotion of Sustainable Development
8. Association for the Promotion of Albinos in Cameroon (APAC)
9. AVAC
10. BudgIT
11. Centre for Health Law and Policy Innovation (Uganda)
12. CEPARD Global
13. Coalition for Health Promotion and Social Development (HEPS), Uganda
14. Disability Peoples Forum Uganda
15. Dumaic Global Health
16. East Africa Health Platform
17. Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS and Health Service Organizations (EANNASO)
18. EmpowerCare Youths Network Solution (EYNS)
19. Engendering Gender International, Uganda
20. Extraordinary Women Advancing Healthcare Awards (EWAHAFRO)
21. Footprints of Hope
22. Global Coalition of Women Against AIDS in Uganda
23. Global Public Health University (GPHU)
24. Human Rights Research Documentation Centre (HURIC), Uganda
25. LiveWell Initiative (LWI)
26. LiveWell Initiative Academy (LWIA)
27. Local Sustainable Communities Organisation (LOSCO)
28. Raising Voices for Empowerment & Development (RAVED)
29. Resilience Action Network International (rani)
30. Rella Women’s Foundation
31. Resilience Action Network Africa (RANA)
32. Support on AIDS & Life through Telephone Helpline (SALT)
33. Society for Children Orphaned by AIDS (SOCOBA)
34. Uganda National Medical Alliance for Prisoners’ Support (TUNMAPS)
35. Treatment Advocacy and Literacy Campaign (TALC)
36. Uganda National Health Users/Consumers’ Organisation
37. Women in Hepatitis Africa (WIHA)
38. Women With a Mission
39. Wote Youth Development Projects (CBO)