Newsletter Edition #336 [The Curated Primer]
Readers,
In this edition we bring together the last three months of our reporting on all things Global Health in Geneva.
You will find below links to nearly 30 editions published since January 2026 through March. My colleague Sana Ali has compiled this edition for you.
Our core expertise and offering this year, has been a dozen editions on Treaty Talks related to global health negotiations at the WHO. There is substantial demand from our readers on these issues. And we understand that. These negotiations go beyond Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response. They go to the heart of the political and commercial determinants shaping global health.
Apart from the negotiations, that take up a lot of our time, resources and energies, we also turned up with the bread-and-butter reporting on global health. These include our Files In-Depth editions, covering weighty matters on governance, financing and geopolitics. We had comprehensive coverage heading into, and at the WHO Executive Board in January that set the tone for the year in Geneva.
In addition, we brought you a string of guest essays that were timely, and added to our already rich offerings. From biosecurity, financing, to governance reforms and conflicts of interest in global health, leading experts in the field informed our highly engaged readers who work in global health.
Finally, we had two offerings from GHF Plus - our premium product for core supporters. One: an organogram showing the restructuring at the WHO headquarters; and the second: a pharmaceutical litigation tracker.
I also indulged myself writing two opinion pieces. In addition, we also brought you curated editions, and our Jobs Scanner. Last quarter, we had two collaborations, with Geneva Solutions, and The Examination.
I was assisted by our contributors in bringing these stories to you. I enjoyed working with Nishant Sirohi, Bianca Carvalho, Vineeth Penmetsa, Khushi Makwana, Anne Jomard, Selina Noe, and Kavishalinie Kanagasabai on some of these editions. My colleague Julia Dötzer, worked assiduously in the background on infographics, charts, and fine-tuning the nuts and bolts of our business operations.
We hope you find this edition useful.
Coming up, we will be tracking the on-going negotiations, the election-frenzy at the WHO, and the activity in the lead up to the World Health Assembly. Consider becoming a subscriber, it helps us absorb the costs of reporting and production.
Geneva Health Files offers value to our readers who are experts in global health. Tracking global health policy-making in Geneva is tough and expensive, without institutional support. For six years, we have provided you with the information and tools that directly contribute to your work in the field. We rely on our readers who value news they can use.
By becoming a paying subscriber you make our work possible. Our subscribers contribute towards greater accountability in global health.
We will be taking a mini-pause. Our regular editions resume after the Easter break.
Best,
Priti
Priti Patnaik, Founder & Publisher, Geneva Health Files
Feel free to write to us: genevahealthfiles@gmail.com ; Find us on BlueSky, Instagram and Linkedin.
I. GHF WRAP Q1 2026
Compiled by Sana Ali
Treaty talks
WHO member states did not make progress to close the gaps in their positions to agree on a new Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing system. The PABS negotiations on at the WHO, is turning out to be a contest on "Who Blinks First". Neither sides have. So the test of the nerves continues. These talks are on the knife’s edge, and it would be shortsighted to predict what happens next. We unpack scores of conversations we had with a range of negotiators, experts and interested stakeholders last week.
WHO member states are in an unenviable situation, where they are trying to build a brand new mechanism on the Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing System. They are seeking to future proof a mechanism to make it workable during health emergencies in the context of vast technological changes now. Their current negotiations are also informed by existing practices of data flows, while being deeply circumscribed by lived experience of uneven development. The empirical information feeding into these negotiations is represented by divided views and not always insulated from commercial considerations. But member states must think through the technicalities to get to the political prize of designing an instrument that delivers medical products to those who need it.
WHO member states have gathered in Geneva, in what is supposed to be a final effort to reach consensus on the Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing System – an annex to the Pandemic Agreement. While the Pandemic Agreement was adopted in May 2025, as per current commitments, countries had signed up to conclude negotiations on the PABS by May 2026. This would push open the door for ratification of the Agreement itself.
There are three parts to this edition. A cheat sheet on PABS; updates from the IGWG Bureau and the WHO; keys messages from recent CSO briefings. Geneva has been buzzing with retreats, consultations and briefings. We have gleaned some information based on this intense activity that provide indications on how countries are gearing for the final round, and the persistent sticky issues in these talks.
[Mar 16] Pathogen Sharing and Biosecurity: Bridging Global Health and the Biological Weapons Regime
As the negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex to the Pandemic Agreement enter their final rounds, they have moved beyond from broad principles to one aspiring for an operational architecture, reigniting the debate over the uneasy intersection between biosafety, biosecurity, and public health equity. At the core of this discussion lies a crucial tension, and a challenge for policy design: How can we ensure the rapid and equitable sharing of pathogen samples and genetic data without inadvertently enabling their misuse?
Slow progress in negotiations is potentially indicative of at least two things: one that the deliberations are deep and useful; second that neither side wants to move yet. Both of these could be true of the negotiations at the Fifth Meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group set up to work towards a Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing system.
The Bureau of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) shared the latest version of the text that will be discussed in the forthcoming formal negotiations scheduled in Geneva for March 23rd-28th 2026. We present key takeaways, the action in Geneva, and excerpts from the latest version that is being workshopped with countries.
[Mar 02] Existing Practices on the Sharing of Pathogen Information: Lessons from the WHO BioHub
A WHO Coordinated Laboratory Network (WCLN) is under consideration to support the Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing system, under the aegis of the Pandemic Agreement. A preliminary concept note on such a network was shared by WHO at the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group held earlier this month, diplomatic sources said.
Countries are getting to the meat of the matter in the negotiations on the Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing (PABS) System at WHO, even as positions remain entrenched between the G6+ countries, and effectively the rest. With less than a dozen negotiating days left, to agree on a new PABS system, WHO member states have gathered in Geneva this week for the deliberations of the fifth meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group, underway February 9th-14th.
In a world of beleaguered multilateralism, came Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at Davos at the World Economic Forum last week, calling for genuine cooperation in the midst of what he termed as “a rupture” in the international order. He also asked middle powers to act together.
Estimating the value of pathogen information is an exercise that WHO member states must address swiftly in the on-going negotiations over a new Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing system for global health.
Apart from the casting away of international law with the abduction of a country’s President, the new year began with the U.S. withdrawing from international organizations and other institutions that, in the view of the Trump administration, “seek to constrain American sovereignty”.
The Files In-Depth
[Mar 09] Digital Health and AI in Global Health Governance: The Discussion at the World Health Organization
Countries’ request for the inclusion of digital health, AI governance and precision medicine on the WHO Executive Board agenda, reflects the growing political urgency. As concerns are rising about the lack of global coordination, digital innovation may exacerbate inequalities rather than strengthen universal health coverage.
[Mar 07] The Iran Briefing From Geneva
Why is this important for global health? Because geopolitics determines everything: from disrupting supply chains for humanitarian aid, to attacks on health facilities; from defining power narratives, to the elections at the WHO; from how alliances make or break, and their implications on women’s health and rights; and much more.
[Feb 10] EXCLUSIVE: EU countries scale back tobacco tax plan [A collaboration with The Examination]
A European Union proposal to raise tobacco taxes has been scaled back amid opposition from several member states, a draft obtained by The Examination shows. The EU currently sets a minimum tax rate of 1.80 euros per pack of 20 cigarettes — but has no minimum rates for newer products. Some countries, like Ireland, France and the Netherlands, impose significant taxes on top of that minimum, while others, like Bulgaria, Croatia and Cyprus, do not.
In one of the most decisive meetings of its Executive Board, member states of the World Health Organization, dealt with not only a range of complex global health policy challenges – a characteristic of such deliberations, but also discussed crucial matters on governance, financing and key accountability mechanisms.
At the 158th meeting of the WHO Executive Board Meeting, the draft text of the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) became contentious with a debate over the language on the terms of technology transfer to improve access to medical products, and innovation, in the fight against anti-microbial resistance. Developing countries contested references to Voluntary and Mutually Agreed Terms (VMAT) in the text and have sought more time for negotiations until the World Health Assembly (WHA).
[Feb 03] Countries Bat for Multilateralism at World Health Organization, Minus the U.S. [EB158 Update]
Member states of the World Health Organization vowed protect multilateralism, days after the unequivocal withdrawal of the United States from the institution. At the opening of the 158th meeting of the WHO Executive Board Meeting, countries acknowledged the strain the WHO has faced on account of financial pressures, and contended with the changed realities in geopolitics that has deeply affected global health.
In this comprehensive briefing, we bring you a quick overview of key financing and governance issues that will come up at the WHO Executive Board early next month. I reviewed the docs, distilled, and cited relevant excerpts for you on some of the key issues to watch out for.
Guest Essays
Negotiations are now at the final stages in developing the WHO’s new pathogen access and benefit sharing (PABS) system, as an Annex to the Pandemic Agreement (PA), adopted last May 2025. The PABS System aims to facilitate the rapid sharing of pathogens with pandemic potential and their genetic sequence information, while ensuring fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their use, on an equal footing, especially access to vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics (VTDs).
[Mar 18] Will Mandatory Financing Help Buy Technology Transfer? Considerations for the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing Negotiations
Negotiations over the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing System must be completed to open the Pandemic Agreement for signature, but are getting harder. A tough sticking point – as it has been for decades in international politics – is technology transfer and intellectual property. In an ideal world, enlightened self-interest would persuade countries and companies that hold technology for pandemic products to share it widely. After all, enabling enough production to protect all people would help prevent outbreaks from becoming pandemics in the first place, and control them faster when they do occur.
[Mar 02] Leading The World Health Organization: Challenges & Opportunities Ahead For A New Director-General
In a previous commentary, we had shared our thoughts on the issues that the member states of WHO could take up in the governing bodies of WHO to move the organization forward and to set it on a sustainable path for the next decade. We had identified three areas of strategic reform: refocus WHO on its key global norms and standard-setting mandate, ensure WHO’s financial independence and strengthen WHO governance and accountability.
[Feb 17] What Are The Actual Impacts Of The 2025 Cuts To Global Health Aid? A Narrative Review
On 20 January 2025, the U.S. administration issued an Executive Order freezing all foreign assistance funds for 90 days, including funds distributed by the US President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The following months saw sweeping cuts, mass firings (USAID’s staff were cut from 10,000 personnel to 15), restructuring, and a series of lawsuits and appeals that continue to date.
For most people, preventing avoidable disease is a shared priority. Governments commit to promoting healthy years of life, strengthening health systems, and protecting communities from preventable harm. That is why follow-up and accountability matter: what gets tracked gets acted on, and what is omitted risks falling behind.
[Jan 13] Global Health: Down But Not Out
It is hard to make sense of changes when you’re in the middle of them. But it feels like international development and global health are experiencing changes on a scale not seen since after the Second World War when the United Nations was established, or during decolonisation in the 1950s and 1960s, or in the post-Cold War period of the Millennium Development Goals and the associated growth in Official Development Assistance (ODA).
The GHF View
[Jan 10] What To Watch Out For In Global Health In 2026
It is becoming difficult to speak about global health without referring to geopolitics. This year will be no different. Barely had global health professionals in the Northern hemisphere fired up their computers, in the afterglow of the annual holiday season at the beginning of 2026, that the U.S. administration cast a new reality upon Caracas, Venezuela, followed by a swift abduction of the country’s President, Nicolas Maduro.
[Jan 5] After a year of disruption, global health needs leaders with backbone (For Geneva Solutions)
Funding shocks, political U-turns and weakened institutions have laid bare the flaws in a global health architecture long overdue for reform – and the need for courageous leadership to stop it from unravelling.
GHF Plus: Global Health Policy Intelligence
[Jan 29] Who's Who At The World Health Organization HQ: An Interactive Organogram
We present the organogram of a restructured World Health Organization through an interactive chart. We hope you find this tool useful. My colleague Selina Noe has built this tool based on publicly available information. The tool enables you to view how the leadership at WHO has been restructured and who sits where at the headquarters in Geneva by using a lateral drop down menu.
[Mar 17] Pharmaceutical Litigation in 2025: A Global Snapshot of Legal Flashpoints
In 2025, the pharmaceutical industry faced a broad wave of litigation that spanned intellectual property defence, antitrust enforcement, pricing regulation challenges, public health access disputes, and product safety claims. A detailed case tracker and accompanying world map highlight the geographic spread and thematic concentration of these conflicts, with the United States serving as the primary battleground while emerging markets contributed notable access-focused cases.
Intellectual property disputes accounted for the largest share of activity. One of the most prominent trends remains the dominance of patent and regulatory exclusivity disputes, particularly in biologics, biosimilars, and mRNA based technologies.
Global health is everybody’s business. Help us probe the dynamics where science and politics interface with interests. Support investigative global health journalism.
Priti Patnaik
