Reforms in Global Health Law: The Pandemic Accord and International Health Regulations

The COVID-19 pandemic brought to light the shortcomings of the international legal framework for pandemics and public health emergencies. Since then, WHO member states and other stakeholders have been working on reforms, including the adoption of a new “WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response” (pandemic accord) and revisions to the International Health Regulations (IHR). My work monitors and evaluates these developments. I am particularly interested in topics related to advancing fair and equitable access to diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines, notably the role of intellectual property laws, technology transfer, access and benefit-sharing systems, and regulatory harmonization. Other relevant topics concern better surveillance and data-sharing, such as through One Health and pathogen genomics. Further, I am interested in the consequences of these international reforms for the Asian region, as well as regional health developments in Asia (such as in ASEAN).