How the Pandemic Agreement Was Negotiated at the World Health Organization: Multilateralism in global health in a divided world. (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9782970162766)

FROM CONCEPTION TO CONSENSUS: THE MAKING OF THE WHO PANDEMIC AGREEMENT

This is a story of the tumultuous journey, that countries around the world undertook over a period of nearly four years, to imagine, craft, negotiate and agree on a new Pandemic Agreement. They were spurred by the loss of more than 20 million lives globally to COVID-19.

At the World Health Organization, countries transcended the pressures of geopolitics; kept wars out of the negotiating floor; squared national interests within an international framework; and rescued multilateralism from the jaws of shrinking globalism. This was not without compromise and politics. After countless hours of frustrating debates and consultations, they reached the finish line to adopt the Agreement in May 2025.

With more than 100 in-depth stories between 2021-2025, that were first reported and published as newsletters in the Geneva Health Files, the book is a journalistic chronicle that tracked the fault-lines and the evolution of the positions of major players in these negotiations.

Often, the reports were timely, capturing the fast-moving dynamics in a highly contentious and pressured environment. These weekly missives to a readership of negotiators, diplomats, global health experts in more than 150 countries, emerged as a consistent information resource for those following the negotiations.

Written as it happened, with the urgency of breaking news and unrivalled insider access, this reportage brought to light many nuances, replete with technical details while painting the big picture. It also captured the underlying politics as the objective of international solidarity clashed with over-riding national self-interests. Equity hung in the balance.

Realpolitik and disinformation continuously challenged these negotiations. Yet, negotiators and a constellation of other actors made consensus a reality in a flourishing finish. The triumph is weary as multilateralism is fragile, and is on the razor's edge.

This first edition encapsulates the drama all in one place.