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Geneva Telegram

The pandemic agreement on the home straight?

by Dr. Anja Maria Rittner

The "Geneva Telegram" deals with events in Geneva's multilateral organizations on a current topic, this time the 12th meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body on the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Convention (INB), which met in Geneva from 4 to 15 November 2024.

The 12th meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating body represented a further step in the negotiations on a global pandemic agreement. Although progress was made, the member states decided not to convene a special session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in December. Instead, the aim is to conclude the negotiations in May 2025 for the next regular World Health Assembly. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus opened the round of negotiations by emphasising the importance of reaching an agreement in the near future: ‘Perfection must not be the enemy of good.’ Nevertheless, numerous delegations warned that content must take precedence over speed to ensure a robust agreement.

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The 12th meeting of the intergovernmental negotiating body represented a further step in the negotiations on a global pandemic agreement. Although progress was made, the member states decided not to convene a special session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in December. Instead, the aim is to conclude the negotiations in May 2025 for the next regular World Health Assembly. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus opened the round of negotiations by emphasising the importance of reaching an agreement in the near future: ‘Perfection must not be the enemy of good.’ Nevertheless, numerous delegations warned that content must take precedence over speed to ensure a robust agreement.

Read the full report here.  

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Contact

Dr. Anja Maria Rittner

Portrait von Anja-Maria Rittner.

Research Associate

anjamaria.rittner@kas.de +41 22 748 70 72

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About this series

The ‘Geneva Telegram’ analyses and documents the processes in Geneva's multilateral organisations on current topics. The reports on multilateral issues draw on the expertise of the KAS Geneva team and external authors. The Geneva Telegram is supplemented by the Maps of the Month, which summarise the voting results of UN member states on selected topics.

Andrea Ellen Ostheimer

Andrea Ostheimer

Director KAS Genf Office

andrea.ostheimer@kas.de +41 79 318 9841