Proposed design elements for the Pandemic Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) System disregard key features of the comprehensive PABS proposal which has garnered support from at least 72 developing countries.
The Vice-Chair and Co-Facilitators of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on a new pandemic instrument jointly drafted the proposed design elements for the PABS system. These proposed design elements undermine the efforts of developing countries to lock in concrete mechanisms that will operationalise equity during a public health emergency/pandemic.
The document titled “Article 12: Proposed Design Elements for PABS by the Vice Chair and Co-Facilitators” dated 7 February drew heavily from the European Union's access and benefit sharing (ABS) proposal disseminated in late December 2023.
This is contrary to the understanding that the INB Bureau/Subgroups will generally support the text or elements having cross regional support. The Africa Group proposal has the backing from Member States in Asia and Latin America. It is not clear whether the EU’s proposal enjoys any support from other developed countries or regions.
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