The negotiations on the Pandemic Agreement took a decisive turn this week, when at least two African countries became a part of a wider cross-regional group lending their support for a proposal that also reportedly has the backing of the EU and the U.S., in the context of the critical provision on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing, according to multiple sources.
Some of these countries are now being referred as the Group of Friends, who presented their proposal at a drafting group session this week, at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body meeting underway in Geneva.
Countries discussed a revised proposal from the INB Bureau that builds on the informal proposal brought by the new group and on earlier feedback from member states. The drafting group is considering Article 12 on PABS, where countries are negotiating text in a plenary format in late evening sessions. Sources told us that what is now on the table is only a couple of paragraphs that capture, principles, components and proposed modalities for such a mechanism.
In this story we discuss the prevailing political dynamics, and the substantives elements of the PABS discussion.