At the heart of global health diplomacy this week, India affirmed its role in the new WHO pandemic treaty talks, even as a fresh wave of monkeypox and other emerging infections pushes WHO to consider another formal declaration — marking a critical pivot in global health governance.
Dateline: New Delhi/Geneva | 28 November 2025
Summary: The (WHO) conference in Geneva witnessed intense negotiations on a comprehensive Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPR) treaty. India reaffirmed its leadership role, demanding equitable vaccine access and tech-transfer safeguards. Simultaneously, reports of rising monkeypox outbreaks in multiple countries prompted WHO to consider a new Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). The convergence of diplomatic, technical and public-health dynamics underscores that the world is entering a new phase of global health architecture—and India is positioned prominently in it.
A New Era in Global Health Diplomacy
The WHO’s PPR treaty negotiations aim to create legally binding commitments for member states, covering early warning systems, data-sharing, R&D collaboration, equitable access to vaccines and therapeutics, and governance reforms. India’s delegation, led by the Health Secretary, pressed for clauses that protect developing countries from export bans, ensure fair pricing and open technology transfers. The urgency is amplified because the world is facing not only conventional influenza threats but a resurgence of diseases like monkeypox and novel zoonoses.
Why India’s Role Is Critical
With the world’s second-largest population, India’s supply-chain capacities, vaccine manufacturing strength and global public-health footprint make it a key player. The country’s pharmaceutical exports, including vaccines, are central to global health security. In Geneva, India emphasised that a treaty without enforceable equity provisions “would repeat the mistakes of the past.”
Monkeypox & Emerging Threats: Heightened Concern
In recent weeks, multiple countries recorded rising cases of some linked to unusual transmission patterns. This resurgence has triggered WHO task-forces to revisit the possibility of declaring a PHEIC. While influenza strains remain under watch, the simultaneous outbreak of multiple pathogens has raised concern that the threshold for emergency declaration could be met within weeks—especially as global travel and cold-weather transmission cycles converge.
India’s Domestic Preparedness Strategy
India’s Ministry of Health is reviewing its pandemic preparedness blueprint. Measures include contingency stockpiles of antivirals, upgrading genomic-sequencing capacity, establishing regional rapid-response labs and ramping up vaccine-fill-and-finish capacities. India’s planned National Biodefence Mission is also being positioned as a node in global readiness architecture.
Equity, Technology and Intellectual-Property: India’s Standpoint
India’s brief in Geneva emphasised three red-lines: unrestricted tech-transfer for essential vaccines, fair pricing for developing countries, and participation in global supply-chains. On the table are revisions to the TRIPS waiver debate, improved access to diagnostics and local manufacturing rights. India signalled it will block treaty approval unless equity clauses are strong.
Global Governance Reform: Challenges and Stakes
The treaty covers institutional reforms: transparent pandemic intelligence hubs, independent review panels, state-party compliance mechanisms and sanctions for violations. Some high-income countries favour voluntary frameworks—but India argues the treaty demands enforceability if past gaps in the International Health Regulations (IHR) are to be corrected.
Health Systems Under Pressure: Developing-Country Realities
Public-health experts point out that many low- and middle-income countries still face basic gaps—primary-care coverage, hospital ICU beds, cold-chain logistics, and surveillance systems. For India, key vulnerabilities include rural health-access deficits, uneven state-capability and heavy reliance on export-oriented vaccine facilities. The treaty design therefore must reflect these realities.
+ There are no comments
Add yours