Dear Colleagues,

It’s not every week that one gets to feel proud about one’s country. Earlier this week, however, when Team Belgium (ahum) rather convincingly beat “Trump” at the World Cup football, I nearly joined the team’s mocking ‘Trumpalike dance moves’ with my shaky old hips. Even if I admit the victory wasn’t quite yet “Jesse Owens in 1936” : )

Over to ‘the week in global health’ then. In Geneva, the 7th seventh meeting of the Intergovernmental Working Group on the WHO Pandemic Agreement, with focus on negotiating the Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing (PABS) annex,  started on Monday. As deep divides remain on a number of issues, we hope that rich countries’  “Coercive containment” of the Africa Group’s Equity Agenda  will be traded for a more constructive stance in the weeks to come. An assertive Africa will accept no less, certainly in the new era of poly-alignment. 

It’s a busy week in Geneva, by the way. In the run-up to the Global Fund’s Board meeting (9-10...