India’s Stakes in the Global Pandemic Agreement
Why in News?
At the UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR), held on September 25, 2026, India emphasised equitable access to health products, national sovereignty and effective international cooperation.
Meanwhile, negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement remain unfinished.
| UPSC Relevance: GS-2 International Relations: International Agreements; GS-2 Social Justice: Health Prelims & Mains: WHO Pandemic Agreement; One Health Approach |
What is the WHO Pandemic Agreement?
- The WHO Pandemic Agreement is the first major global legal framework specifically designed to strengthen international cooperation to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response (PPPR).
- It seeks to address weaknesses exposed by COVID-19, particularly inequitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, technologies and health resources.
- It was adopted by consensus at the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025 under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution, which enables the World Health Assembly to adopt conventions or agreements on matters within WHO’s competence.
- Adoption does not mean entry into force. The PABS annex is still under negotiation. Once the required process is completed, the Agreement will open for signature and ratification, with 60 ratifications required for entry into force.
The Agreement is distinct from the UN Political Declaration on PPPR, which is a political commitment rather than the treaty instrument itself.
Key Features of the Pandemic Agreement:
1. Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing:
Countries supplying biological resources should also benefit from products developed using them.
- Pathogen Sharing: Mandates member states and network laboratories to share pathogens with pandemic potential and their genetic sequence information (GSI) for research and development.
- Real-Time Allocation: Legally binds participating multinational pharmaceutical manufacturers using the PABS data stream to earmark 20% of real-time production of relevant vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for WHO allocation based on public health risk.
- 10% is provided entirely as a free donation.
- 10% is provided at affordable, non-profit pricing.
2. The Integrated ‘One Health’ Approach:
Acknowledging that the vast majority of human pandemics originate as zoonotic spillovers, the agreement codifies an environmental-animal-human nexus.
- Interface Monitoring: Imposes systematic monitoring protocols across the human-animal-environment interface to detect spillover risks before mutations cross over to human populations.
- Preventative Architecture: Standardises global laboratory capacity, data streams for vector-borne tracking, early warning community alerts, and coordinated outbreak management systems.
3. Structural Resilience of Health Systems:
The agreement establishes minimum capability baselines to prevent localised outbreaks from overwhelming primary health infrastructure.
- Workforce Safeguards: Introduces funding and protection frameworks to expand, train, and structurally shield the domestic health and care workforce during prolonged bio-crises.
- System Upgrades: Embeds domestic clinical systems with integrated diagnostic networks, resilient data reporting chains, and optimised primary health delivery capabilities.
4. Technology Transfer and Diversified Manufacturing:
To eliminate Global South reliance on concentrated Western manufacturing clusters, the agreement seeks a geographically decentralised industrial model.
- Breaking Monopolies: Incentivises and pushes proprietary drug developers to transfer technology, software models, and manufacturing know-how to regional production hubs.
- The Legal Mechanism: Operations occur on “Mutually Agreed Terms” (MAT). This legal compromise balances private intellectual property rights and public health needs, ensuring technology transfer is actively advanced while protecting innovation incentives.
5. Preservation of National Sovereignty:
- No Executive Power: The agreement firmly denies the WHO Secretariat any supranational executive authority. The WHO cannot enforce domestic shutdowns, mandate border closures, quarantine citizens, or dictate national vaccination strategies.
- State Autonomy: Reaffirms the ultimate authority of individual sovereign nations to determine, implement, and enforce their internal public health directives and legislative frameworks during health emergencies.
The Core Fault Lines: Global North vs. Global South
| Issue Dimension | Global North (HICs) Perspective | Global South (LICs/LMICs) Perspective |
| One Health & Surveillance | Demands strict monitoring of the human-animal-environment interface. | Refuses binding targets without guaranteed financial support to upgrade fragile health systems. |
| Technology & Patents | Resists mandatory, binding targets regarding technology transfer and intellectual property sharing. | Demands open-access technology, affordable pricing, and real-time vaccine distribution. |
| Sovereignty & Multilateralism | The United States rejected the Declaration, viewing the WHO’s pandemic declaration powers as a threat to national interest. | Demands a harmonised global framework that respects member-state policy autonomy. |
India’s Position and Way Forward
India’s stated position combines international cooperation with national ownership. It has emphasised fair PABS outcomes, implementation according to national circumstances, and member-state participation in reviewing pandemic-related tools and assessments
India should pursue three priorities:
- Build practical South-South partnerships: Support joint surveillance, laboratory capacity, health-worker training and One Health programmes. Operational cooperation can build trust around sensitive sovereignty questions.
- Use multilateral platforms effectively: Advance financing, technology access and digital-health cooperation through WHO and the G20. The Global Initiative on Digital Health, launched by WHO and India’s G20 presidency in 2023, provides an existing platform.
- Strengthen domestic preparedness: Align biological-resource access and benefit-sharing rules with public-health needs; invest in research, essential inputs and emergency manufacturing; and improve coordination across health, animal husbandry and environmental agencies.
India’s ability to combine its pharmaceutical strength, technological capabilities and Global South leadership with respect for national sovereignty can make it an important bridge between developed and developing countries in shaping the post-COVID global health order.