The World Health Organization Pandemic Agreement was signed by the UK at the World Health Assembly in Geneva yesterday.

Minister of state for international development, Baroness Chapman, said: ‘The Pandemic Agreement is a great example of the UK working with our partners to support countries to combat disease and strengthen their health systems. Acting together will help us to prevent pandemics and prepare for and respond to any future pandemic threats.'

The areement creates a framework for countries to take action together to better prevent pandemics by improving disease surveillance and speeding up innovation of life-saving vaccines and treatments.

One hundred and twenty-four member states agreed to adopt the agreement which includes commitments for health, animal and environmental sectors to collaborate through a ‘One Health' approach to prevent disease spillover from animals to humans and provisions that will foster innovation, enhance global research and development, and strengthen supply chains.

The Pandemic Agreement paves the way for a new and voluntary Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) system which should see pharmaceutical companies get faster access to the pathogens and genetic sequences that they need to create new vaccines, treatments and tests to respond to a pandemic. In return, manufacturers who voluntarily sign up to the system will share a portion of their production with the World Health Organization to allocate where it is most needed.