This year’s World Health Assembly is a make-or-break moment for World Health Organization Member States to gather and agree to a historic pandemic agreement after more than two years of negotiations. Dr. Tedros, Director General of the World Health Organization called the pandemic agreement a “generational opportunity” and the world’s best shot at “protect[ing] future generations from the suffering we endured” during the COVID-19 pandemic. While many issues remain under discussion, the practicalities of coordinating and financing the provisions of the agreement via existing mechanisms remain in question.

In the final stages of the INB pandemic agreement negotiations, Pandemic Action Network (PAN), the Eastern Africa National Networks of AIDS and Health Service Organizations (EANNASO), StopAIDS, WACI Health, the Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN), and the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) are convening a civil society discussion session to dig into the key questions, priorities, and practicalities around financing in draft pandemic agreement. Experts and stakeholders from key financing institutions including Gavi, the Global Fund, and the Pandemic Fund will detail how existing financing mechanisms can optimize coordination to fill gaps and deliver sufficient, sustained, and additional financial resources to strengthen and expand capacities for pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.