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Pandemic prevention, preparedness and response accord [1]

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Date: 2023-11

Member States meet virtually and in person on a regular basis as part of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), according to the timeline of the INB, which is set out in document A/INB/3/4.

Member States convening as part of the INB conducted a first phase of their work between February and June 2022 with the aim of agreeing on the way they would work, and defining how best to engage various stakeholders in an inclusive manner. The INB shared the report of this first phase of its work through a global public live webcast.

Member States started the second phase of their work as part of the INB in July 2022 by initiating discussions on elements that could become part of a future accord.

The INB took several important steps by discussing a Conceptual Zero Draft (CZD) of the accord at INB3 in December 2022 and agreed that the INB Bureau should move forward with producing a Zero Draft of the accord.

As part of this, the INB has taken several important steps, including:

discussing a Conceptual Zero Draft (CZD) of the accord at INB3 in December 2022 and agreeing that the INB Bureau moves forward with producing a Zero Draft of the accord;

agreeing at the fourth meeting of the INB, held on 27 February – 3 March 2023, that the Zero Draft (ZD) becomes the basis for negotiations by Member States on a pandemic accord;

continuing to provide textual proposals for the ZD at the fourth and fifth meetings of the INB, held on 27 February – 3 March 2023 and on 3–6 April 2023 respectively, which form an integrated set of meetings focusing on reviewing the ZD, and agreeing that the INB Bureau should compile the textual proposals received, and provide a Bureau’s text, showing options where feasible, for consideration of the Member States;

presenting a progress report to the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly in 2023, which was discussed at the fifth meeting of the INB and was of a procedural nature;

deepening the work on selected articles of the Bureau’s text at the resumed session of the fifth meeting of the INB, and agreeing to continue consideration of several of these articles through informal meetings of the Drafting Group in preparation for and during the sixth meeting of the INB, which was held on 17–21 July 2023, as well as ahead, and during the Drafting Group meeting on 4-6 September 2023. This work, which continues in September 2023 allows WHO Member States to bridge their understanding of each other’s proposals, and helps further the work. The INB Drafting Group will resume its work on 22 September 2023 to take stock of progress achieved through these informal meetings; and

planning to consider a proposal for negotiating text of the WHO CA+ at the seventh meeting of the INB to be held on 6-10 November and resumed on 4-6 December 2023. This proposal will be shared by the INB Bureau by 16 October 2023, based on the discussions of the INB from its fourth, fifth, and sixth meetings, as well as the meeting of the Drafting Group, including its informal meetings, and the reports of the co-facilitators of those informal meetings.

It was agreed by Member States at the fourth meeting of the INB, beginning on 27 February 2023, that the Zero Draft becomes the basis for negotiations by Member States on a pandemic accord.

The fourth and fifth meetings of the INB, held on 27 February – 3 March 2023 and on 3–6 April 2023, respectively, formed an integrated set of meetings focusing on reviewing the ZD. The INB reviewed in detail the ZD and provided additional textual proposals.

The INB agreed that the INB Bureau should compile the textual proposals received, and provide a Bureau’s text, showing options where feasible, for consideration of the Member States. The INB presented a progress report to the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly in 2023. The Bureau’s text was made available to Member States shortly after in early June 2023 in all UN Official Languages.

At the resumed session of the fifth meeting of the INB, the INB exchanged views on selected articles of the Bureau’s text and agreed to continue consideration of several of these articles through informal meetings of the Drafting Group.

The INB also agreed to a series of intersessional informal meetings for Drafting Group participants in advance of the sixth meeting of the INB, to be held on 17–21 July 2023.

A joint plenary session of the INB and the Working Group on Amendments to the International Health Regulations (WGIHR) was held on the afternoon of 21 July and morning of 24 July 2023.

The World Health Assembly mandated the INB to submit its final outcome to the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly in May 2024.

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[1] Url: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/pandemic-prevention--preparedness-and-response-accord

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