“No Equity, No Deal”: Africa Demands Binding Terms in Pandemic Pact Ahead of Geneva Talks

 By Gedion Nzyoki -

• African civil society groups have warned that ongoing Geneva negotiations on the WHO Pandemic Agreement could fail if the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex does not include strong, legally binding equity provisions
• Advocates argue that without enforceable benefit-sharing, future access to vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments could repeat the global inequities seen during the COVID-19 pandemic
• With talks entering a critical final phase ahead of the World Health Assembly, campaigners are urging governments to resist weak compromises and push for a fair, accountable global health framework

NAIROBI, Kenya | April 24, 2026 — With just five negotiating days remaining before the World Health Organization World Health Assembly, Kenyan and broader African advocates have issued a stark warning ahead of high-stakes talks in Geneva, cautioning that a weakened Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) Annex under the World Health Organization Pandemic Agreement could entrench global health inequities for decades—and would ultimately be worse than no agreement at all.

Samuel Kinyanjui, Country Director of AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Kenya, addresses the press. (Photo: Courtesy)

Speaking at a press conference held at the AIDS Healthcare Foundation headquarters in Nairobi on Friday, April 24, advocates from across the continent urged governments not to endorse any agreement that fails to guarantee legally binding benefit-sharing provisions. 

The warning comes just days before member states reconvene in Geneva for the resumed sixth session of the Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG6 Part B), scheduled for April 27 to May 1, ahead of the 79th World Health Organization World Health Assembly.

Led by Resilience Action Network Africa (RANA) Executive Director Aggrey Aluso, alongside AHF Kenya Country Director Samuel Kinyanjui, People’s Health Movement Kenya National Coordinator Dan Owala, and Mind To Heart CBO’s Willis Omondi, the coalition argued that Africa must adopt a firmer and more unified negotiating stance.

“Most diseases with pandemic potential, including Ebola, Marburg, Lassa fever and mpox, are endemic in Africa, not in Europe or the United States. Yet Europe and the U.S. hold stockpiles of mpox vaccines, while Africa does not. Where did they get the genetic sequencing data? From Africa, and it was shared free of charge,” said Aggrey Aluso.

“This is not a negotiation about charity. It is about one of the most strategic resources in 21st-century public health. Every country has something to contribute to a robust PABS system. A good agreement is possible, and we have all the right proposals on the table. All actors must now act in good faith,” he added.

From left: Dan Otieno Owala, People’s Health Movement Kenya; Dr Kinyanjui, Country Director, AHF Kenya; and Mr. Willis Omondi, Programme Manager, Mind to Heart Community-Based Organization, during a press briefing in Nairobi on Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS).

The PABS Annex is a central pillar of the Pandemic Agreement, setting out how pathogen samples and genetic sequence data are shared globally, as well as how the resulting vaccines, diagnostics, and treatments are distributed. Until it is finalised, the agreement cannot be opened for signature.

For his part, People’s Health Movement Kenya National Coordinator Dan Owala pointed to pandemic-era disparities, noting that although African researchers rapidly shared genomic data, the continent received a disproportionately small share of COVID-19 vaccines relative to its 17 percent share of the global population.

“The last pandemic was not a failure of science—it was a failure of solidarity. If this Annex lacks enforceable obligations, we risk rebuilding the same broken system,” said Dan Owala.

Civil society sets strict conditions for a fair pathogen-sharing system

Civil society groups have set out a series of core demands for the PABS Annex, insisting that benefit-sharing must be legally binding and enforceable; access to vaccines and treatments must be pre-agreed rather than negotiated during crises; and contracts must be standardised and concluded between governments rather than delegated to private actors. 

They also call for mandatory registration and traceability of all users of pathogen data, alongside intellectual property rules that prioritise public health over monopoly control. 

The groups further rejected proposals for a “hybrid” system with parallel access routes, warning that it would weaken and ultimately undermine the entire framework.

Kenya’s health ambitions highlight what is at stake in the ongoing negotiations. The country has attained WHO Maturity Level 3 for medicines regulation and aims to produce 50 percent of its essential medicines locally by 2030, even as over 70 percent are currently imported.

Speaking at the press conference, AHF Kenya Country Director Samuel Kinyanjui warned that the outcome of the Geneva talks could determine whether these ambitions are achieved or delayed.

“The question is whether countries like Kenya will be empowered or once again locked into dependency,” he said.

Advocates are now focusing their attention on European countries, including Germany, France, Switzerland and Norway, which have been identified as resisting binding commitments. Campaigners say that a shift in position by countries such as Spain or Belgium could help break the current impasse ahead of the May deadline.

The resumed IGWG6 negotiations mark the final scheduled opportunity to bridge outstanding differences before the World Health Organization World Health Assembly convenes in May. 

At the centre of the talks is a fundamental question of whether global health governance will be grounded in equity and accountability, or continue to depend on voluntary commitments. For African advocates, the answer is unequivocal.