Pandemic Agreement delay risks slowing pandemic prevention
Despite being adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2025, a year later key details that would allow it to enter into force have still not been agreed.
The entry into force of the Pandemic Agreement has been delayed after the latest Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) meeting failed to conclude negotiations on key outstanding issues.
Instead, countries agreed to extend the process until the 2027 World Health Assembly, a decision Born Free is disappointed by given the urgency of strengthening global pandemic prevention and wildlife protection measures.
What is the Pandemic Agreement?
The World Health Organisation’s Pandemic Agreement aims to implement a legally binding international instrument designed to make the world safer and more equitable in the face of future pandemics.
As an official stakeholder organisation engaged in the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement process, and as a member of the NGO-led Pandemics and Animal Welfare Coalition, Born Free has long supported the development of a Pandemic Agreement that focuses on preventing pandemics before they start and recognises the close connection between human, animal and environmental health through the One Health approach.
The majority of emerging infectious diseases in humans originate from wild animals. However, it’s only when we stress those animals by disrupting their habitats, or by hunting, breeding and trading them, that we create the conditions for viruses and other pathogens to emerge, mutate, and potentially cross over to people.
One of the most effective ways to prevent future global health crises is to reduce the risk of diseases spreading from animals to humans in the first place, by tackling high-risk activities involving wildlife, such as live animal trade and markets, wildlife farming, bushmeat hunting, human-wildlife conflict or tourism involving close contact with wild animals.
What issues could delaying the Pandemic Agreement cause?
The need for countries to move forward with pandemic prevention measures and embed One Health principles into policy and practice is becoming increasingly pressing.
Recent Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, alongside continued concerns over zoonotic threats such as Hantavirus, serve as a stark reminder of how vulnerable the world remains to emerging disease threats. These events reinforce a lesson repeatedly highlighted over recent years: prevention cannot remain secondary to response. Pandemic risks are driven by interconnected pressures including habitat destruction, wildlife exploitation, environmental degradation, and weak health systems.
The delay in the Pandemic Agreement coming into force must not become a pause in action. Countries should continue strengthening One Health strategies and putting robust pandemic prevention measures in place, rather than waiting for the Agreement to be formally opened for signature. Existing frameworks, including the Global Action Plan under the Convention on Biological Diversity, already provide a basis for action.
This remains a moment of real opportunity. Maintaining pressure on negotiations and ensuring that progress continues will be essential if the Pandemic Agreement is to move swiftly towards signature, ratification and implementation, before the next outbreak reminds us once again of the cost of delay.