A treaty, at last? [image: Health workers working in the triage area of a hospital along a main road in Manila City, Philippines, during the COVID-19 pandemic in August 2021.] <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POhclVMjy-fPC1nQx1DZzXLm4Q0CDsUV0PGoabbEMBLQQqFfPwZ5Omvj1hXu_upyrPpl9__qmPJcllPUmbPHnkvs-ER2HuSWDPdbmDY09dwxYR79m34bzXvMoohuw_16uld6VbNfwrNFBNCNRRm2OyOc4QaCxsAF786vtJ6Ifnah456JNIVUcqZbLzKtXVvMUKXgM7GtW9L2tgZXv-NCXGVU1K4L92cfzzPcaIQCvT7iXlVIFb1U7U29CbouxK0dxJg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=> After three years of negotiations, *could a pandemic treaty finally arrive* ahead of the upcoming World Health Assembly in May? In an opinion piece for Devex, Alexandra Finch, Lawrence O. Gostin, and Dame Barbara Stocking *say it is possible*, but only if some final hurdles can be overcome. The parties still haven’t come to an agreement on what steps they are willing to commit to when it comes to pandemic prevention. The global south wants to avoid anything too specific *unless those measures come with funding commitments*, for instance. The issue of voluntary versus obligatory technology transfer *also remains contentious*, as does how to actually set up an equitable pathogen sharing system. Finch, Gostin, and Stocking have ideas for how all of these issues can be resolved <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POhclVMjy-fPC1nQx1DZzXLm4Q0CDsUV0PGoabbEMBLQQqFfPwZ5Omvj1hXu_upyrPpl9__qmPJcllPUmbPHnkvs-ER2HuSWDPdbmDY09dwxYR79m34bzXvMoohuw_16uld6VbNfwrNFBNCNRRm2OyOc4QaCxsAF786vtJ6Ifnah456JNIVUcqZbLzKtXVvMUKXgM7GtW9L2tgZXv-NCXGVU1K4L92cfzzPcaIQCvT7iXfPYVA25YEBqVp3nQruoI8Q==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=> to keep the parties on track to finally reaching an agreement. *Opinion:* Failing to finalize a pandemic treaty is not an option <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POhclVMjy-fPC1nQx1DZzXLm4Q0CDsUV0PGoabbEMBLQQqFfPwZ5Omvj1hXu_upyrPpl9__qmPJcllPUmbPHnkvs-ER2HuSWDPdbmDY09dwxYR79m34bzXvMoohuw_16uld6VbNfwrNFBNCNRRm2OyOc4QaCxsAF786vtJ6Ifnah456JNIVUcqZbLzKtXVvMUKXgM7GtW9L2tgZXv-NCXGVU1K4L92cfzzPcaIQCvT7iXL_tabDBxzy2oDQTXPBF-gQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=>