Newsletter Edition #368 [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 three dozen long-form editions published since April 2026 through June. My colleague Sana Ali has compiled this for you.
Our core expertise and one of the key offerings this year, have been related to global health negotiations at the WHO. There is substantial demand from our readers on how countries are negotiating the first ever Pathogen Access Benefits Sharing rules in global health. And we understand that. These negotiations go beyond Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response, and go to the heart of structural and political underpinnings of the field.
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 World Health Assembly in May in Geneva.
In addition, we brought you a string of guest essays that were timely, and added to our already rich offerings. From participatory approaches in AI, to chokepoints in global health, on the EU-India FTA, to agenda-setting at the WHA. We also had a guest essay exploring the Gates-Epstein affair and the implications for global health.
Finally, we had two offerings from GHF Plus - our premium product for core supporters, including a mapping of all side events at the WHA.
I also indulged myself writing two opinion pieces. In addition, we also brought you curated editions, and our Jobs Scanners.
I was assisted by our contributors in bringing these stories to you. I enjoyed working with Iman Ibrahim, Nishant Sirohi, Vineeth Penmetsa, Anjan Rosario, Shubhangi Thakur, Pia Mehdwan, Anne Jomard, Maged Iskarous, 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 in the fall of 2026, we will be tracking the on-going negotiations, the election-frenzy at the WHO, the reforms discussion in global health, and we will also be taking a closer look at some of the big global health agencies.
With every edition we strive to offer value with depth, nuance, detail, capturing the technical and the political, and giving our readers context. You are experts in global health, and we work hard to inform you with news you can use. Consider becoming a subscriber, it helps us absorb the costs of reporting and production.
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 respect and recognize the value of reader-funded journalism.
By becoming a paying subscriber you make our work possible. Our subscribers contribute towards greater accountability in global health.
Please note that we will have fewer editions in the coming weeks. We use this time every year to go back to the drawing board to fine-tune strategy, technology and everything that keeps this operations going.
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 Q2 2026
Compiled by Sana Ali
Treaty talks
[July 3] PABS Primer: The State of Play for the July Negotiations at The WHO
In this update we provide our readers with information on the state of play in these discussions since the last formal negotiations in early May 2026. We spoke with a cross section of delegations over the last few weeks.
We also followed up with a separate, detailed story on the implications of, and the questions raised by, the current Ebola emergency on these negotiations.
[June 8] The Post-COVID Law of Speed: An Analysis of The Declaration of Ebola as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern
The decision by the Director General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to declare a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) before convening an Emergency Committee was unprecedented. But it may also reveal a post-COVID reading of Article 12 of the International Health Regulations (IHR): procedure should safeguard emergency power, not slow the alarm. When the WHO DG declared the Bundibugyo Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, he did more than activate the world’s highest formal public health alert. He tested the emergency architecture of the International Health Regulations.
[June 1] Africa CDC: Ebola Emergency Underscores The Access to Countermeasures in the Negotiations On Pathogen Access & Benefit Sharing
Following the WHO’s declaration of a public health emergency of international concern, Africa CDC declared a public health emergency of continental security. Leadership conducted immediate field visits to the epicenter in the DRC to meet with leaders and understand the real needs of the affected population. The President of the DRC is providing daily guidance and leading the government's response to the outbreak. The DRC government initially provided $20 million for the response and is increasing that amount to approximately $50 million.
[May 25] Reading the Global Health Security Consensus: Countries on the International Health Regulations at WHA79
There appears to be a significant shift in the way member states understand the role of the International Health Regulations (IHR) within the evolving global health architecture. Once seen primarily as a technical framework for disease notification and outbreak reporting, the IHR is now increasingly understood as the operational backbone of global health security and pandemic preparedness. In this story, we analyse the interventions made during the World Health Assembly’s agenda item 13.2 on the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) (2005), as amended in 2024.
[May 22] Ebola Emergency Frames The Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing System As Key For Global Health Security [WHA79 UPDATE]
Scores of countries emphasized equity, traceability, sovereign rights over pathogens, legal certainty, operational feasibility, and a timely conclusion of the negotiations on the Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing System, during discussions at the 79th World Health Assembly this week in Geneva.
[April 27] The PABS Cheat Sheet; Perspectives from Negotiators
This is based on our reporting in the intersessional period, and on a closed door briefing for countries and non-state actors by the Bureau of the Intergovernmental Working Group.
We break this into procedural update, the path forward and substantive issues discussed during the intersessional informals.
The Files In-Depth
[July 1] Iran's Assessment on the Geneva Talks: Strait of Hormuz, Regional Security Alignments & More
Ali Bahreini, Iran's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, had a long and detailed press briefing in Geneva at the UN headquarters last week. [The briefing was organized by the Association of Accredited Correspondents at the United Nations (ACANU)]
[June 29] Ebola Update from the Africa CDC & The WHO
In this edition, we bring you a comprehensive update on the Ebola emergency, based on briefings from the Africa CDC and the WHO, conducted late last week.
[June 26] Two-Speed Multilateralism and the Climate-Health Agenda: Can Parallel Processes Accelerate Action?
Can smaller coalitions and parallel initiatives move the climate-health agenda faster than the formal multilateral system alone? This question was tackled at an event held at the Geneva Graduate Institute a few weeks ago, by a panel of policymakers, researchers, and health. The discussion framed climate change from the outset, as both an environmental emergency and a public health crisis. Speakers pointed to heat, air pollution, vector-borne disease, food insecurity, mental health pressures, and mounting strain on health systems as evidence that the climate-health nexus can no longer be treated as peripheral.
[June 24] When The Public Pays Twice: The Gap in The Conditions on Access. Analysis on The EU's €175 Billion Research Funds
In June, the European Parliament's Committee on Industry, Research and Energy (ITRE) takes up the amendments that will shape its position on the EU's next research programme, the successor to Horizon Europe. It is the tenth in the EU’s sequence of multi-year research funding Framework Programmes, known in the legislative process as FP10. It will run from 2028 to 2034 and is proposed at €175 billion. Among those amendments is a proposal that would decide whether publicly funded health research carries any obligation that the resulting medicines, vaccines and diagnostics be affordable and accessible once they reach the market. As the currently drafted European Commission programme stands, no such obligation exists.
[June 11] Reforming the Global Health Architecture: Power Relations, Jockeying for Influence, and the Efforts to Break Free from Status Quo
The efforts to reform the global health architecture is a bit disparate and diverse, like global health itself. Even so, there are commonalities in some of the approaches in the way stakeholders are thinking about reforms. In this story we try to map recent conversations at the World Health Assembly last month that provide clues on the direction of travel in these discussions. This edition is divided into three parts: the decision at the WHA, what countries said, bring you key voices on reforms. We also present statements from countries' that reveal their expectations from the reforms process.
[June 3] What A Procedural Report At The Executive Board Says About The Politics At The WHO?
The WHO is no stranger to politics in conflict settings. In fact, countries voted 11 times at the recent World Health Assembly this year. The Executive Board meeting that followed the WHA, also had its fair share of difficult discussions related to geopolitics and conflict. This related to a report of the Standing Committee on Health Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response (SCHEPPR). In this story, we break down why this was contentious and what this means.
[May 28] WHA79 At A Glance: Resolutions, Discussions & Decisions; Analysis of the Health Personnel Code
At the Assembly, countries approved a resolution to amend the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel. WHO said, that “the key revisions to the Code include the incorporation of provisions covering health personnel recruited internationally for employment as care workers and clarification on the applicability of the Code’s recommendations during emergencies. The Code also encourages co-investment in health systems and the health workforce to ensure international recruitment generates proportional benefits for both source and destination countries.”
Since its adoption by the Sixty-third World Health Assembly in 2010, the Code has undergone three rounds of reviews to assess its relevance and effectiveness. This first update in 16 years – triggered by the third review.
[May 23] Geopolitical Votes Wound The World Health Organization: Health For Some, Not All
There was a time when voting in the World Health Assembly was seen as debilitating to the spirit of consensus-building in this member state organization. Those days are long gone. Under the World Health Assembly’s “Protect Health” agenda, Member States convened to discuss health emergencies, preparedness, and conflict-related health crises. Yet across discussions in plenary and committee sessions, debates repeatedly extended beyond epidemiology or operational response.
[May 27] The Quest for a New Boss for the WHO Launches into Gear
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s successor will need a strong strategy and their political wits about them to address member state defections, shaky financial prospects and an expanding to-do list of global health issues, writes Priti Patnaik, founder of Geneva Health Files. The World Health Organization has sounded the call that will see a slew of nominations from potential candidates to be the next leader of the organisation. A communication to this effect was sent out last month by the current director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and recently-published guidelines for the election process will be reviewed at the World Health Assembly, the organisation’s highest decision-making body, next week.
[May 21] The Ebola Briefing
We are sharing a update on the Ebola emergency, based a press briefing by WHO earlier this week, on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly.
[May 19] Health Emergencies & Political Votes Intersect to Spark Off Tense Start to the World Health Assembly
The complexity and the realities of the times we live in, are all too evident in the unfolding World Health Assembly – the annual gathering for countries to discuss health. A declaration of Public Health Emergency of International Concern preceded the meeting. An Emergency Committee is being convened today to discuss the Ebola emergency in Africa. The strain of Ebola virus, has caught authorities by surprise, and there are no available vaccines yet.
[May 17] Ebola Declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern; Hantavirus Outbreak Foreshadows the World Health Assembly
Epidemic of Ebola Disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda determined a Public Health Emergency of International Concern: WHO: "Under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR), the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), having consulted the States Parties where the event is occurring, has determined that the Ebola disease caused by Bundibugyo virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).”
[May 16] Ebola & Hantavirus Outbreaks Foreshadow the World Health Assembly
At the cusp of the World Health Assembly, when 192 member states of the World Health Organization gather in Geneva starting Monday, these outbreaks are as much a sombre reminder of the fragility of health, as they are about the importance of collective efforts to safeguard health.
[May 14] Revamping Global Health Architecture: Reforms by "Reports"
The response to the upending of global health, as a result of the dramatic and sudden cuts in official development assistance, has been slow, guarded and contentious. This should not be surprising given that a structure that has been built by layers upon layers of varied political and financial impulses, will need careful consideration of what comes next.
[May 12] The Real Costs of Restructuring at the WHO: Financing, Staffing and Mandates
There are four segments to this edition: Finance, Human Resources, the Membership Question, and the Elections for a new Director-General. We have distilled multiple documents, and cite graphs, tables to make all of this more accessible.
[May 11] The Hantavirus Briefing
In today's edition, we bring you communications from top officials at the World Health Organization as they discuss the evolving developments from the outbreak of Hantavirus aboard a ship. At a press briefing earlier this week, officials responded to a range of questions from transmission, diagnostics, to treatment. The outbreak also brings into focus how countries currently share pathogen information. And most of all, the outbreak is a live illustration on the impact on global health security, also in light of withdrawal of the U.S. and Argentina from the WHO.
[May 06] What The Creative Ambiguity Around The Withdrawal From The World Health Organization Means
An organization designed on the premise that no one would ever want to leave is discovering that the absence of an exit clause is not the same thing as the absence of an exit – and that the real cost of the ambiguity is not legal, but operational. The Constitution's drafters treated universal participation as a functional precondition for the Organization's mandate; the questions raised over the last sixteen months touch directly on that premise.
[April 23] The Code for Recruitment of Health Workers Under Review at the WHO: A Moment of Promise or Just Status Quo?
More than fifteen years after its adoption, the WHO Global Code of Practice remains ethically sound but operationally weak. At WHO’s Executive Board Meeting in February 2026, Member States adopted a decision to launch Member State–led consultations anchored in a WHO-mandated Expert Advisory Group (EAG) review, ahead of WHA79 (May 2026).
[April 29] Examining The Narrative of Incentivizing Pharma Industry Participation in The WHO Pathogen Access Benefit Sharing System
Throughout the negotiations for the Pandemic Agreement (PA), Global North countries – especially those with big pharmaceutical manufacturing industries – insisted that the Agreement had to be structured in a manner that would incentivize pharma to participate. They have repeatedly echoed this sentiment over the last year in the context of the PABS Annex negotiations. But which “industry” is being spoken about here? And is the fairness and functionality of the PABS Annex completely dependent on them?
[April 16] What PAHO's Decision on the Status of Measles in the Americas, Reveals About Oversight of Powerful States?
The decision by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to postpone its review of the United States' measles elimination status—from April to November 2026 — raises the question of whether an international health body can maintain independent, rigorous oversight of a powerful member state.
[April 14] Protecting Health Care in War: Law, Evidence, and the Challenge of Implementation
A recent event in Geneva, “Strengthening the Application of International Humanitarian Law to Guarantee Access to Healthcare,” hosted by the Geneva Centre for Humanitarian Studies, brought together legal experts, researchers, and humanitarian practitioners to examine a persistent paradox in modern conflict: while international humanitarian law (IHL) provides robust protections for hospitals and health workers, attacks on health care continue to rise.
[April 10] How A Few Developing Countries Tied The Protection of Policy Space in Public Health With Duties on E-Commerce: A Tale of Two Moratoriums at the WTO
International trade is in choppy waters. The institution that finds itself at the centre of that perfect storm of geopolitics and mercantilism, is the World Trade Organization. The 166-member organization recently concluded its 14th Ministerial Conference in Cameroon, albeit without a ministerial declaration or final decisions on key trade issues. Unresolved matters are expected to continue in Geneva.
Guest Essays
[June 26] EU–India FTA: Tariffs down, TRIPS-Plus provisions out — what does it mean for access to medicines?
Almost twenty years in the making, negotiations for the EU-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) concluded on 27 January 2026, with the full text of the agreement being published subsequently. Finalized at a time of increasing US tariffs, trade unilateralism, and geopolitical tensions, the FTA between the world’s second- and fourth-largest economy sends a strong message about both parties’ continued commitment to rules-based international trade.
This agreement comes after previous unsuccessful bilateral trade negotiations between the parties, between 2007 and 2013, which had ultimately collapsed without a deal. Reports at the time suggested that disagreements about the inclusion of TRIPS-plus standards and the impact thereof on access to medicines were one of the key points of contention.
[June 02] Participation is The Medicine For AI Healthcare, But It Needs To Be Real
The World Health Organization is currently drafting its next Global Strategy on Digital Health(GSDH) 2028-2033. As a group of public health professionals, AI developers, policymakers, patient advocates, industry representatives, and academics in the social and computer sciences working together in the HealthAI Community of Practice, we have seen that all-too-often visions for digital health miss a key ingredient. For AI to benefit human health and protect population sovereignty, governments and insurance firms need to use their purchasing power and other authority to centre participatory approaches in the design and development, through to deployment and governance of the AI in the health ecosystem. These principles inform a set of action points stated below.
[May 26] Geneva Rules: Power, Proximity, Priority
The World Health Assembly operates in two diplomatic theatres: the formal Assembly and the ecosystem of side-events around it. The first has an agenda, rules of procedure, committees, regional consultation groups, and resolutions. It is where Member States speak, negotiate, endorse, delay, soften, and decide. The second is less formal, but not less consequential. It unfolds through side events, diplomatic breakfasts, donor lunches, closed roundtables, civil society briefings, receptions, corridor conversations, hotel meetings, and quiet bilateral exchanges. It is where issues compete for visibility before they acquire formal standing, where coalitions are built before they are announced, and where proximity to power begins to look like political relevance.
[20th April] Striking a Balance: Standardization and Flexibility in Pandemic Contracts
The inclusion of contracts in the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) System remains one of the most contentious issues in the ongoing negotiations of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) at the WHO.
[April 08] Health as a Strategic Leverage: Navigating Chokepoints with Diplomacy
For decades, global health has positioned itself as above geopolitics — a humanitarian domain governed by solidarity, science, and the shared imperative to protect human life. That self-image was always partially fiction, health has long been a bargaining chip in international relations. What has changed is the sophistication with which political actors play that game, and the reluctance of global health institutions to acknowledge it.
The GHF Interview
[June 30] "Recipients Reluctant to Bite The Hand That Feeds Them": Tim Schwab on the Gates-Epstein Saga & What It Means for Global Health
Tim Schwab is an investigative journalist based in Washington DC. He responded to queries by Geneva Health Files in a long-ranging interview, that pieces together how we should begin to understand the impact of the Gates-Epstein association on global health.
GHF Plus: Global Health Policy Intelligence
[May 26th] Decoding the World Health Assembly: Reflections; What a Mapping of the Side-Events Reveal
We analysed more than 200 listed side-events at the WHA79. Most of them were multistakeholder events with private sector participation. There were more than ten different themes. Read to know more.
[June 12th] All in One: Our Briefings on the 79th World Health Assembly in a Single Report
The GHF View
[May 13th] The next WHO leader will need to be a multitasking political acrobat [For Geneva Solutions]
"Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’s successor will need a strong strategy and their political wits about them to address member state defections, shaky financial prospects and an expanding to-do list of global health issues"
[May 29th] World Health Assembly Recap: Financial Crunch, Affected Mandates, and Future Leadership [For Think Global Health]
"A year after official development assistance for health began sliding into a historic cascade, coupled with political strife surrounding vaccination and sexual and reproductive rights, global health institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) have been forced to calibrate their mandates."
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
