Ireland’s Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill backed a draft global pandemic agreement set for adoption at the 78th World Health Assembly in May 2025, hailing it as a milestone in fortifying defences against future health emergencies, according to Euractiv.
The accord, negotiated by the WHO’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body, seeks to unify international responses through equitable resource sharing and rapid coordination. Clare Fitzell, Head of strategic policy at the Irish Pharmacy Union and president of the Pharmaceutical Group of the European Union, underscored the critical role pharmacies played during COVID-19.
Pharmacists are among the most accessible and trusted healthcare professionals in local communities. Community pharmacies are a reliable source of advice and play a key role in reinforcing public health messaging.
Ireland’s High Tech Medicines Scheme, which streamlined vaccine distribution via pharmacies, is now touted as a model for Europe. Fitzell urged governments to embed pharmacies formally into pandemic frameworks, noting their unmatched accessibility.
Their widespread presence across Europe provides an essential infrastructure to support mass vaccination programmes, as well as a professional healthcare setting in which to conduct point-of-care testing.
Regulatory flexibilities introduced during the pandemic—such as allowing pharmacists to issue emergency medication supplies—should become permanent, she argued, to bolster “health system resilience.”
Innovation needed, pharma sector says
While supporting the WHO agreement, the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA) aligned with global industry calls to safeguard intellectual property (IP) protections. David Reddy of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA) warned that weakening IP rights would stifle the “high-risk R&D” required for future vaccines and therapies.
Eimear O’Leary of IPHA echoed this, stressing that pandemic readiness hinges on “legal certainty” for drugmakers to invest in emerging pathogens.
The draft agreement, finalised after 13 rounds of talks, will face scrutiny at the Geneva assembly under the theme One World for Health. With pharmacies and pharma giants alike demanding recognition, its success may hinge on balancing public health imperatives with the economic realities of medical innovation.
