GENEVA — Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus issued a joint letter on June 15, 2026, urging world leaders to finalize the pathogen access and benefit-sharing (PABS) annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement. The letter requested that global leaders treat July 17 as a firm deadline for finalizing this annex.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in up to 20 million fatalities and caused approximately $13 trillion in global economic losses. Scientists estimate a nearly 25 percent probability of another pandemic occurring within the next ten years. Countries previously adopted the WHO Pandemic Agreement to cooperate more effectively in preventing, preparing for, and responding to pandemics.

The PABS annex of the agreement remains incomplete. The WHO Pandemic Agreement cannot formally come into force without its completion. Negotiators are scheduled to meet from July 6 to July 17 to resolve outstanding issues on the annex. The PABS framework is designed to enable countries to quickly share pathogen genetic information for the development of tests, treatments, and vaccines.

The joint letter states the agreement does not compromise national sovereignty or grant the WHO authority to impose lockdowns or vaccination mandates. da Silva and Ghebreyesus wrote, "In a divided world, that outcome was not to be taken for granted. It was an act of hope and an act of faith in one another. We write to you now because that hope is not yet fulfilled and because it lies within your hands to help fulfil it."

They added, "Finishing this agreement is not a departure from that legacy. It is its natural next chapter, and it is within reach."