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WHO chief says Ebola outbreak shows need to finish pandemic treaty
સમાચારમાં કેમ?
Adopted in May 2025 yet still unsigned: the missing PABS annex holding up the WHO Pandemic Agreement
WHO urges completing the pandemic accord after fresh Ebola alarm.
Why it matters: factual, Prelims-type
What you need to know
2 મિનિટ
The WHO Director-General has said recent deadly outbreaks, including Ebola, show the urgency of completing the pandemic treaty.
The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2025, but it needs its annex on pathogen access and benefit sharing before it opens for signature.
The aim is fairer access to vaccines and data during future pandemics.
સ્રોત: Topper IAS editorial (PIB / The Hindu / Indian Express)
મુખ્ય તથ્યો
Remember these
- The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2025.
- It cannot open for signature until its annex on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) is completed.
- The aim is fairer access to vaccines, diagnostics and data during future pandemics.
- The World Health Assembly is WHO's supreme decision-making body, comprising all member states.
- WHO is headquartered in Geneva; its Director-General has linked recent Ebola outbreaks to the treaty's urgency.
પ્રિલિમ્સ · મેઇન્સ
How the exam will ask it
પ્રિલિમ્સ
- The WHO Pandemic Agreement was adopted by the World Health Assembly, the supreme decision-making body of WHO in which all member states are represented.
- The Agreement opens for signature only after its annex on pathogen access and benefit sharing is finalised.
- The International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee advises the Director-General on public health emergencies of international concern, but does not adopt treaties.
- Ebola is a viral haemorrhagic fever transmitted to humans through contact with the blood or body fluids of infected animals or people.
મેઇન્સ
GS2 (International organisations, health): Recent outbreaks such as Ebola expose inequity in access to vaccines and pathogen data, which the WHO Pandemic Agreement seeks to correct through pathogen access and benefit sharing (PABS). Until the annex is agreed the treaty cannot open for signature, so disputes between pathogen-sharing countries and vaccine-producing countries are the key hurdle. For India, a Global South voice with a large vaccine industry, the way forward lies in pressing for equitable, binding benefit-sharing and stronger surveillance alongside the IHR.
Quick recall
Answer before you reveal
The WHO Pandemic Agreement, whose annex on pathogen access and benefit sharing is yet to be completed, was adopted in May 2025 by which body?
- WHO Executive Board
- Regional Committee for South-East Asia
- Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations
- World Health Assembly
જવાબ જુઓ
જવાબ: D — Correct: World Health Assembly — The World Health Assembly, WHO's supreme decision-making body of all member states, adopted the Agreement. • WHO Executive Board — wrong: The Executive Board prepares the Assembly's agenda and implements its decisions but did not adopt the Agreement. • Regional Committee for South-East Asia — wrong: A regional committee advises on regional matters and cannot adopt a global agreement. • Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations — wrong: The IHR Emergency Committee advises on public health emergencies of international concern, not treaties.
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