An Initiative by the Global Health Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute
GOVERNING PANDEMICS
A one-stop shop tracking efforts to strengthen global pandemic governance
TIMELINE OF EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN GLOBAL PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE IN LIGHT OF THE COVID-19 CRISIS
PAST
MAY 2025
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15 May: Draft resolution on the WHO Pandemic Agreement
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18-27 May: Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly
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20 May: Adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement (resolution)
APRIL 2025
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7-11 and 15 April: Resumed session of the Thirteenth meeting of the INB (Final report)
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16 April: Final text for the proposal for the WHO Pandemic Agreement
MARCH 2025
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26 March: Onscreen draft text for the WHO Pandemic Agreement reflecting progress up to Friday 21 February with Bureau proposed text on outstanding provisions to support the negotiations for INB 13 resumed
FEBRUARY 2025
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6 February: Onscreen draft text for the WHO Pandemic Agreement reflecting progress up to Friday 6th December with Bureau proposed text on outstanding provisions to support the negotiations for INB13
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17-21 February: Thirteenth meeting of the INB (Interim report)
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21 February: Onscreen draft text for the WHO Pandemic Agreement reflecting progress up to Friday 21 February
DECEMBER 2024
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2-6 December: Resumed session of the Twelfth meeting of the INB (Final report)
NOVEMBER 2024
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4-15 November: Twelfth meeting of the INB (Interim report)
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15 November: Onscreen draft text for the WHO Pandemic Agreement reflecting progress up to Thursday 14th November
SEPTEMBER 2024
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3-4 September: Interactive Dialogues on Article 12; on the complementarity between the amended IHR and the proposal for the WHO Pandemic Agreement; the legal architecture of the proposal for the WHO Pandemic Agreement; and on Articles 4 and 5
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Professor Suerie Moon made interventions during the sessions on Article 12:
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First Webcast – Intervention at 2:00:30.
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Second Webcast – Intervention at 2:40:12.
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Professor Gian Luca Burci contributed several times during the session on legal architecture and complementarity in the third webcast:
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Legal Architecture – Interventions at 17:26, 54:03, and 1:40:40.
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Complementarity – Interventions at 2:41:20, 3:41:34, and 3:52:19.
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9-20 September: Eleventh meeting of the INB (Report)
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20 September: Onscreen draft text for the WHO Pandemic Agreement reflecting progress up to Thursday 19th September
JULY 2024
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16-17 July: Tenth meeting of the INB (Report)
JUNE 2024
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1 June: A package of critical amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) adopted by the 77th WHA
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1 June: Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response WHA77 decision
MAY 2024
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16-17 May: Resumed session of the Eighth meeting of the WGIHR (Final report)
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20-24 May: Resumed session of the Ninth meeting of the INB and continuation of the drafting group (Report)
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27 May - 1 June: Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly
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27 May: Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) Report by the Director-General to WHA77
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27 May: Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response Report by the Director-General to WHA77
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28 May: Strengthening preparedness for and response to health emergencies through targeted amendments to the International Health Regulations (2005) Draft resolution proposed by France, Indonesia, Kenya, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and the United States of America
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28 May: WHO Pandemic Agreement Draft resolution proposed by the 47 Member States of the African Region
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28 May: WHO Pandemic Agreement Draft resolution proposed by Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Haiti, and Pakistan
THE GOVERNING PANDEMICS INITIATIVE
An initiative by the Global Health Centre, Geneva Graduate Institute
Covid-19 has exposed major gaps in the global system for governing preparedness for and responses to pandemics. The Global Health Centre's Governing Pandemics initiative is tracking efforts to address these gaps. This site offers a one-stop information source on six issues that have been identified as requiring reform, and on the proposed pandemic treaty.
For each issue, the main problems, pre-Covid-19 reforms, 2021 recommendations by major international panels, and ongoing policy debates are summarized. Regular updates will be provided as efforts progress.
Leadership, Monitoring and Accountability
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GOVERNING PANDEMICS 101
Pandemics such as Covid-19 pose wicked challenges for global governance. The Global Health Centre is piloting a free, open online course designed for learners who wish to follow and engage with ongoing processes to reform global arrangements for pandemic preparedness and response.
Topics include WHO; treaties; financing: sharing of data and samples; access to vaccines and drugs; trade and travel restrictions; animal-human health; human rights; humanitarian assistance; universal health coverage and geopolitics.
