Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Genetic resources and benefit-sharing · Global · 2025–2026

WHO Pandemic Agreement and the PABS annex

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

A Pandemic Agreement was reported adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2025, but its pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) annex was not adopted in May 2026, and the agreement had not opened for signature by the latest date on record.

5: 0Drivers of disease emergence listed in the zero draft vs the final Article 4
Zero draft (climate, land use, wildlife trade, desertification, antimicrobial resistance) against final Article 4, May 2025.

Status As of October 2026: the PABS annex was not adopted by WHA79 (May 2026), negotiations were deferred to May 2027, and the Pandemic Agreement had not opened for signature.

What?
Reported adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement (May 2025) and the unsuccessful attempt to adopt its PABS annex (May 2026). PAHO
Where?
World Health Assembly, WHO (global). WHO
When?
PABS annex not adopted on 19 May 2026; deferred to May 2027 or a special session. PAHO
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The sources reviewed give no reason for the failure to complete the annex; WHO announced an extension of negotiations. WHO
How?
Final Article 4 focuses on surveillance and removed the zero draft's list of drivers; entry into force is reported to depend on the annex and 60 ratifications. Health Policy Watch
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who

What happened

The record, in order.

Health Policy Watch reported on 20 May 2025 that the World Health Assembly had adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement at its 78th session (WHA78) and that entry into force depended on the adoption of an annex on pathogen access and benefit sharing (PABS) and on 60 ratifications. This is reported but not independently verified here.

The zero draft of the agreement listed five drivers of disease emergence: climate, land use, wildlife trade, desertification and antimicrobial resistance. The sources reviewed record that the final Article 4, dated May 2025, focuses on surveillance, for example in laboratories, and does not address habitat exploitation or livestock. The list of drivers and the One Health principle that appeared in the zero draft were removed.

On 1 May 2026 WHO announced that Member States had agreed to extend negotiations on the PABS annex. On 19 May 2026 the PAHO page on the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG) recorded that the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA79) did not adopt the annex, that the negotiation was deferred to WHA80 in May 2027 or to a special session, and that the agreement had not been opened for signature.

The United States' withdrawal from WHO took effect on 22 January 2026, and an executive order halted its participation in the Pandemic Agreement negotiations. Argentina withdrew on 17 March 2026.

  1. 2025Pandemic Agreement reported adopted at WHA78 (May); final Article 4 has no list of drivers
  2. 2026US withdrawal from WHO takes effect (22 Jan); Argentina withdraws (17 Mar); WHO announces extension of PABS talks (1 May); WHA79 does not adopt the PABS annex and defers it to May 2027 (19 May)

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • Zero draft: five drivers of disease emergence listed; final Article 4 (May 2025): no list of drivers.
    • WHO announced on 1 May 2026 that Member States had agreed to extend negotiations on the PABS annex.
      WHO
    • WHA79 did not adopt the PABS annex; negotiation deferred to May 2027 (WHA80) or a special session; the agreement was not opened for signature (19 May 2026).
      PAHO
    • The United States' withdrawal from WHO took effect on 22 January 2026 and halted its participation in the negotiations; Argentina withdrew on 17 March 2026.
      The Citizen (Tanzania)

    Who gained

    Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

    Reached nature or the ground

    Not published
    No figure published.

    Gained elsewhere

    Not totalled
    Currency: USD · Window: 2011–2017. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

    Responses on record

    • who (2026-05-01): WHO announced that Member States had agreed to extend negotiations on the PABS annex. · WHO
    • who (2026-01): WHO regretted the United States' withdrawal and warned of global health risks (headline of the reporting item). · The Citizen (Tanzania)

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Drivers of disease emergence listed
    5 → 0
    Zero draft against final Article 4, May 2025
    Agreement open for signature
    No
    As of the latest date on record, October 2026

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    No court caseNo independent ecological evaluationUnder standard-setter review

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.

    Court

    Record

    • None on record The sources reviewed do not state when, or whether, the PABS annex will be adopted; negotiations were deferred to May 2027 or a special session.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: that the agreement was adopted at WHA78 and that entry into force requires the PABS annex and 60 ratifications (Health Policy Watch, 20 May 2025).

    Did the harm stop?

    Not applicable on the record: the annex has not been adopted and the agreement has not opened for signature.

    Who paid?

    The sources reviewed record no payments under the PABS annex, which has not been adopted.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers✓ International bodies

    Press and investigations

    International bodies

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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