UN negotiators in Geneva are pushing a new pathogen-sharing system as the Trump administration bypasses multilateralism with $16 billion in bilateral health pacts across Africa.
Negotiations at the World Health Organization in Geneva reached a critical juncture this week as member states advanced the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) system. This annex to the 2025 WHO Pandemic Agreement seeks to codify a global exchange where developing nations provide biological samples of emerging viruses in exchange for guaranteed access to vaccines and diagnostics. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has positioned the completion of these PABS talks as a mandatory prerequisite for the full ratification and implementation of the global pandemic treaty, urging member states to finalize the framework to ensure no region is left behind in the next crisis.
While Geneva focuses on centralized multilateralism, the U.S. executive branch is aggressively implementing an alternative model that prioritizes national sovereignty and market-driven outcomes. The Trump administration’s new “America First Global Health Strategy” has already secured 13 bilateral health pacts across Africa valued at approximately $16 billion. These agreements represent a significant departure from traditional USAID and WHO-centric aid, shifting cooperation away from international bureaucracies toward direct deals that explicitly favor U.S. pharmaceutical and medical firms. The strategy requires partner governments to increase their own domestic health spending, emphasizing fiscal transparency and reducing long-term dependency on foreign subsidies.
This shift in American policy comes as Africa faces a complex and deteriorating landscape of concurrent health emergencies. The WHO reports that Africa accounted for approximately 75% of global mpox cases in July 2026. Between July 6 and August 16, 11 African countries recorded 1,153 confirmed cases and seven deaths. Madagascar’s outbreak has been described as the largest mpox event globally since December 2025, prompting the WHO to treat the situation as a graded health emergency with standing recommendations now extended through August 2027. The regional burden is further strained by the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which officials warn is far from over. Despite a decline in transmission in the worst-hit Ituri province, the virus has spread to a seventh province, and strengthened surveillance is expected to drive reported case numbers even higher.
In response to these fragmented crises, the WHO Regional Office for Africa recently launched a Regional Health Data Hub. This digital platform aims to integrate data from all 47 member states into a single interface for real-time intelligence on outbreaks and health systems. However, the success of such a hub relies on the very pathogen-sharing protocols currently being debated in Geneva. For American taxpayers and policymakers, the tension between the WHO’s PABS system and the U.S. bilateral approach raises fundamental questions regarding intellectual property. The PABS framework often implies a degree of mandatory technology transfer and “equitable access” mandates that critics argue could undermine the R&D incentives of the American private sector.
By contrast, the new U.S. bilateral pacts leverage American industrial strength to address HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, ensuring that U.S. capital is tied to measurable outcomes and national interests rather than opaque global funds. As the WHO AFRO reports on ongoing cross-border risks of Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease between the DRC and Uganda, the debate over who controls health data and who sets the terms for medical intervention will intensify. The American stake is clear: while infectious diseases do not respect borders, the mechanisms used to fight them—whether through UN-led mandates or sovereign bilateral contracts—will determine the efficiency and accountability of global health spending for the next decade.
Rachel Vaughn serves as a Senior Correspondent for Just Right News, where she leads the network’s coverage of Global Health, Climate, and Development. With a career defined by intellectual rigor and a commitment to principled reporting, Rachel provides a vital conservative perspective on some of the most complex and high-stakes issues facing the world today. Her work is characterized by a refusal to accept bureaucratic narratives at face value, focusing instead on how international policies impact national sovereignty, individual liberty, and the American taxpayer.
Raised in New Haven, Connecticut, Rachel grew up in an environment dominated by elite academic discourse. This upbringing provided her with a front-row seat to the inner workings of the American establishment, but it also instilled in her a healthy skepticism of the “ivory tower” consensus. She learned early on that while academic theories may sound promising in a lecture hall, they often fail to account for the practical realities of the working class. This background drives her to bridge the gap between high-level policy discussions and the common-sense concerns of everyday citizens, ensuring that her reporting remains grounded and accessible.
Now based in Burlington, Vermont, Rachel operates from a unique vantage point within one of the nation’s most progressive political landscapes. Living and working in a region that often serves as a testing ground for radical social and environmental experiments allows her to witness the real-world consequences of these policies firsthand. From her base in the Green Mountain State, she provides Just Right News readers with essential “boots on the ground” reporting, documenting the friction between local mandates and the constitutional freedoms of the individual. Her presence in Burlington ensures that her critiques of globalist agendas are informed by a direct understanding of how those ideologies manifest at the local level.
In her acclaimed feature series, “Planetary Stakes,” Rachel explores the intersection of international development and environmental stewardship. She rejects the alarmism often found in mainstream media, opting instead for a sober analysis of the economic and geopolitical costs of global climate agreements. Her reporting frequently highlights the importance of market-driven innovation and the role of American leadership in fostering global health without ceding authority to unelected international bodies. Through “Planetary Stakes,” she has become a leading voice for those who believe that true conservation and public health are best achieved through transparency, accountability, and the protection of private property rights.
Throughout her tenure at Just Right News, Rachel has distinguished herself as a journalist who is unafraid to ask difficult questions of global institutions. Whether she is investigating the influence of non-governmental organizations on domestic policy or analyzing the fiscal transparency of international health initiatives, her goal remains the same: to provide her audience with the facts necessary to navigate an increasingly interconnected world. Her blend of East Coast intellectual heritage and her current immersion in the political heart of the Northeast makes her an indispensable asset to the newsroom and a trusted source for readers seeking a principled, conservative take on the issues that define our era.