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Over five days at #IGWG8, @who.int Member States sought to advance the #PABS Annex – but no major breakthrough emerged. Complex discussions continued on how pathogen data would flow through the system and how benefits would be enforced. Key takeaways 🧵👇🏼

1️⃣ #IGWG8 opening statements revealed a shared message across #LMIC groups (Africa, SE Asia, EMRO, the Equity Group): Access and benefits must be operationalised on equal footing, with legal certainty, predictability, and meaningful benefits at the core. healthpolicy-watch.news/developing-c...

2️⃣ A demanding programme of work alternated between informal sessions led by co-facilitators and formal sessions chaired by the Bureau. Co-facilitators opened the week by mapping convergences and divergences from the preparatory informals. www.who.int/news-room/ev...

3️⃣ Part of the week was spent discussing the trade-offs of the proposed #PABS data access models, with no convergence yet. The EU-backed ‘hybrid’ model would let pathogen data flow across databases; the Africa Group's ‘federated’ model would keep data with the country holding it.

4️⃣ Attention also turned to 'downstream' measures (ie controls applied by regulatory agencies during the development & approval of viable products) as a complementary checkpoint to ensure #PABS benefits are enforced. @cepi.net & other stakeholders backed this type of measure.

5️⃣ A Wednesday stakeholder session weighed pros & cons of 'downstream checkpoints.' Some valued their role in state-led enforcement; others stressed 'upstream' WHO contracts are essential and should not be traded for downstream measures.

6️⃣ The final days centered largely on governance – including the role of @who.int and the future #PABS advisory group. The WHO laboratory network was also the subject of extensive discussion, as delegates weighed how it fits into the wider #PABS architecture.

7️⃣ EMRO Member States confirmed Dr Ahmed bin Salim Al-Mandhari – Oman's Under-Secretary for Planning and Health Regulation – as a new #IGWG Bureau member. WHO's Europe and Western Pacific regions have yet to designate new Bureau members. 🤝 www.moh.gov.om/en/ministry/...

8️⃣ At the closing session, the Bureau reported that MS agreed that Oct's informal meetings will be structured to build understanding and convergence, to produce draft textual proposals for formal consideration at #IGWG9 – a welcome step to add traction. 📺 apps.who.int/gb/IGWG/e/e_...