Africa Group
African member-state bloc negotiating the WHO pandemic treaty pathogen-sharing annex.
The Africa Group's demand for binding pathogen-sharing rules met a second straight deadlock on 18 September 2026, when WHO's IGWG8 talks in Geneva closed with no agreed annex text.
Last refreshed: 4 October 2026
Timeline for Africa Group
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Pandemics and BiosecurityBackground
The Africa Group is the bloc of African member states in WHO's negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) annex to the Pandemic Agreement, which was adopted in May 2025. The annex governs what countries that hand over samples and sequences get back, such as vaccines and medicines.
The bloc's position comes from COVID-19. African states shared samples and sequence data under existing WHO arrangements but waited far longer than wealthier countries for vaccines. The Africa Group argues that only binding conditions, not voluntary pledges, can prevent a repeat, and it wants samples held in national and regional laboratories rather than central databases.
The Pandemic Agreement binds no government until the annex exists, so every other provision waits on the dispute the bloc is party to.
Its federated model still lacks a deal
At IGWG7 in Geneva, which closed on 17 July 2026, the Africa Group spoke through Algeria for a federated system: national and regional laboratories holding samples under binding access rules. The European Union and other industrialised states backed a hybrid with central databases and looser terms, and neither side moved.
IGWG8 ended on 18 September with no text either. With adoption now pushed to the World Health Assembly of May 2027, any pathogen that surfaces before then will be shared without the benefit-sharing terms the Africa Group wants, and the Pandemic Agreement stays closed to signature until the annex is settled. A political declaration at the UN General Assembly on 25 September left that date unchanged.
What model does the Africa Group want for sharing pandemic vaccines?
Who speaks for the Africa Group in the WHO pandemic treaty talks?
Why does the Africa Group want binding rules on vaccine sharing?
What is the difference between the Africa Group's plan and the EU's plan for the pandemic treaty?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 4 October 2026. Editorial standards.