IT for Change has signed on to a letter submitted by scientists, academics, and scientific organizations from multiple regions across the world, expressing concerns regarding biosecurity risks in the ongoing negotiations on the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) Annex to the WHO Pandemic Agreement.
The letter reflects issues raised primarily from within the scientific community, drawing on expertise in biosafety, biosecurity, biotechnology, and digital and data-driven sciences. It highlights emerging risks associated with advances in artificial intelligence, synthetic biology, and pathogen sequence data sharing, and underscores the need for clear, enforceable safeguards within the PABS system.
The signatories submit these observations in the interest of strengthening the scientific robustness, safety, and credibility of the PABS framework, while supporting its objectives of equity and global public health.
Read the letter here.