In the aftermath of the adoption of the landmark Pandemic Accord: what are the strategic options for its effective implementation in Africa?

Globalization and Health Olu et al. Globalization and Health (2025) 21:49 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-025-01144-1 Open Access CO M M E N T In the aftermath of the adoption of the landmark Pandemic Accord: what are the strategic options for its effective implementation in Africa? Olushayo Oluseun Olu1*, Henry Bosa Kyobe2,3, Robert Lubajo1, Amos Petu4, Abdulmumini Usman5, Sylvester Maleghemi6 and Francis Chisaka Kasolo7 Abstract Background Following three years of complex negotiations, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body announced consensus among Member States on 16 April 2025, leading to the adoption of the Pandemic Accord at the SeventyEighth World Health Assembly on 19 May 2025. The accord aims to address the systemic inequities and failures exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic by enhancing early detection and rapid response capacities, promoting equitable access to pandemic-related health products, and ensuring sustainable financing for pandemic activities. This commentary highlights why the accord is of critical importance to Africa and describes the strategic options for its effective implementation on the continent. Main text Africa, with its unique pandemic vulnerabilities and weaknesses in global health security capacities, stands to gain the most from the Pandemic Accord. The continent faces challenges such as high-threat pathogens, weak health systems, political instability, and limited domestic financing. Additionally, Africa’s low capacity to influence global negotiations and fragmented public health governance complicates the implementation of global health agreements. To overcome these challenges, eleven priority recommendations are proposed, including joint analysis and domestication of the accord’s provisions, strong political commitment, better alignment of regional and global health security initiatives and public health organizations, leveraging digital technologies, prioritizing local manufacturing, and community engagement. Conclusion We urge African stakeholders to collaborate in ensuring the transformation of the accord from a global commitment into meaningful pandemic prevention and control action for the continent. Keywords Pandemics, Epidemics, Pandemic Accord, Implementation, World Health Organization, Africa *Correspondence: Olushayo Oluseun Olu 1 World Health Organization Regional Office for Africa, Brazzaville, Congo 2 Interdisciplinary Consortium for Epidemics Research, Kampala, Uganda 3 Incident Management Team, Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda 4 Global Health Planning, Program, Economics and Finance Group, Ilofa, Nigeria 5 Public Health Disaster Risk Management Consultant, Kano, Nigeria 6 World Health Organization Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland 7 World Health Organization Liaison Office to the African Union and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia © The Author(s) 2025. 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To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creati vecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. Olu et al. Globalization and Health (2025) 21:49 Background Following three arduous years of complex negotiations, the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB), mandated to draft and negotiate an international legal instrument under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution, on global pandemic preparedness and response, announced consensus among Member States in the early hours of 16 April 2025 [1]. The resulting Pandemic Accord (PA) emerged as a response to the catastrophic failures and systemic inequities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The PA aims to strengthen pandemic preparedness and response by enhancing early detection and rapid response capacities; promoting equitable access to pandemic-related health products such as vaccines, diagnostics, and therapeutics; and ensuring sustainable financing for pandemic activities [2]. In addition, the Accord highlights the importance of preventing future pandemics by adopting the One Health approach. This integrated framework addresses the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health to promote sustainable health outcomes and strengthen early detection and response systems. The PA is yet another opportunity to enhance global health security and build more resilient health systems, ultimately contributing to improved public health outcomes and a safer, more prepared world. Nevertheless, the PA negotiation process brought to the fore several deep-rooted geopolitical sensitivities and divergences, notably, the issue of Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS). PABS is a mechanism aimed at promoting equitable access to pathogens and the fair distribution of benefits arising from their use, especially during pandemics, by enabling the timely sharing of biological materials and genetic sequence data [2]. Also contentious is the mechanisms for technology transfer required to enable equitable production and distribution of pandemic-related health products, particularly in low- and middle-income countries [3]. With the formal adoption of the PA at the Seventy-Eighth World Health Assembly (WHA78) on 19 May 2025, urgent and coordinated efforts are needed to secure its signature, ratification, and implementation by all concerned parties. Despite this adoption, the unresolved issues around article 12.2 of the accord on the PABS system may delay the formal signature and implementation of the PA [4]. Key pending issues, including the definition of pathogens with pandemic potential, the scope of PABS materials, the inclusion of genetic sequence data, and the terms and conditions governing access and benefit-sharing have proven challenging during negotiations [2]. As a result, these sensitive elements have been deferred to a separate annex, which will be subject to further negotiation. While this approach facilitates the immediate adoption of the less controversial components of the PA, it may Page 2 of 5 ultimately hinder the timely and effective operationalization of the Accord [4]. In this commentary, we highlight why the PA is of critical importance to Africa. We also (...truncated)