Tara Shine

One would hope, unfortunately, this story is about the fact that we're actually unprepared for the next pandemic because we haven't got it together at a global level to agree on how we're going to collaborate in the next pandemic.

So there will be another pandemic.

Question is, can we learn and do better than the last time?

And the last time, although it was awful for all of us, looked at globally, it was most awful for people internationally.

in poorer countries.

And so it really increased inequities and inequalities in the world.

And so what is trying to be agreed now is a system to more equitably share information, genetic information, but also the benefits like the vaccines that will be needed in the next pandemic.

And basically the world is a bit stuck on agreeing all of that.

It's a real north-south divide.

Reading about this really reminded me of the climate negotiations.

So the developed countries on one side are quite keen to hang on, if you like, to their preferential access to the vaccines, which ultimately are developed in the north, which is where all the labs are.

But in order to create those, they have to get access to the pathogens and the genetic material which comes from all over the world, including the global south.

And so what they're trying to do is create a system that is going to be fairer in the way that we provide access to these pathogens and develop and share access to the solutions.

And although an initial kind of accord was agreed back in May 2025, it was only agreed because they fudged this issue of pathogen access and benefit sharing.

They stuck it into an annex and said they'd come back to it later.

Later is now.

They haven't been able to agree it.

And then on the 1st of May, they've actually had to push it into the next session in Geneva under the WHO.

So it continues on into the month of July with the two like two amazing ladies leading this process.

Ellen Johnson, certainly former president of Liberia and Helen Clark, former president of New Zealand, are the two at the helm of this trying to steer the countries of the world to an agreement.