In December 2021, the World Health Assembly established an Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement or other international instrument under the Constitution of the World Health Organization to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
The Bureau of the INB, formed by six officers, one from each of the six WHO regions, including two co-chairs, work together to coordinate the work of the INB, facilitate the process, including for negotiations, and make proposals on the way forward, as agreed by the WHO Member States. The INB welcomes the new Vice Chair from Egypt, Ambassador Amr Ramadan, who replaced Mr Ahmed Salama Soliman, whose term at the Permanent Mission of Egypt in Geneva has ended.
The first session of the seventh meeting of the INB was held from 6–10 November 2023, and it resumes 4–6 December 2023. During this meeting, WHO Member States are invited to consider the proposal for negotiating text of the WHO pandemic agreement. On 10 November, the INB agreed to hold intersessional drafting subgroups on specified Articles.
Regarding the preparations for the eighth and ninth meetings of the INB to be held in hybrid format from 19 February to 1 March and from 18 to 29 March 2024 respectively, the Bureau will provide for the consideration of the INB a proposal for those meetings at the resumed seventh meeting of the INB in December 2023.
The opening and closing plenary sessions of the meeting are open to WHO Member States, Associate Members, Observers and regional economic integration organizations, as well all relevant stakeholders. They will be publicly webcast and archived for later viewing.
The opening plenary of the meeting took place on 6 November 2023, and the closing plenary is scheduled at the end of the resumed session on 6 December 2023.