Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava has called for a fair Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system under the WHO Pandemic Agreement at a UN high-level meeting in New York, the Health Ministry said on September 26.

Srivastava said countries that contribute pathogens and biological resources must receive timely access to vaccines, diagnostics, therapeutics and technologies. She said the credibility of the Pandemic Agreement, adopted in May 2025, depends on a fair PABS system.

Drawing on India’s COVID-19 experience, she said India supplied 300 million vaccine doses to around 100 countries and two UN entities, and medical aid to over 150 countries. She also called for digital public infrastructure to be recognised as a global public good.

Srivastava reaffirmed India’s commitment to global health security and said pandemic preparedness is a shared responsibility. Negotiations on the PABS annex of the agreement are still under way, and a political declaration must not prejudge them.