First published in early 2025 in the German edition of MaxPlanckForschung—a magazine that reports on the scientific research carried out at the institutes of the Max Planck Society—Pedro A. Villarreal’s article ‘Overcoming Global Health Threats Together’ is now available in the English edition (MaxPlanckResearch).
Villarreal, a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law from 2017 to 2024, is now based at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. Always an engaged participant within Max Planck Law, Villarreal played a leading role in the Max Planck Law Initiative ‘The Fragmented Nature of Pandemic Decision-Making‘, which culminated in a journal special issue.
In the MaxPlanckResearch article, Villarreal offers a sober appraisal of the gaps in the international legal framework exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic. He outlines the logic and limits of the ongoing effort to establish a new pandemic agreement under the auspices of the World Health Organization.
The text sets out not only the structural deficiencies of the existing International Health Regulations, but also the emerging contours of a new system for pathogen access and benefit sharing. Designed to prevent the recurrence of vaccine nationalism, the proposed system aims to ensure equitable access to both samples and treatments across states. But Villarreal is cautious: ‘It remains to be seen whether the agreement will be adopted,’ though he speculates that it could also be ‘adopted as a (non-binding) resolution by the WHO [… which] would mean that states would not be obliged to comply with the articles contained in the text.’
Read the full article in the English edition of MaxPlanckResearch.