Significant financial commitments have been made to the World Health Organization (WHO) to support its operations over the 2025–2028 budgetary term. In addition to the $300 million that the European Union and African Union had already given, WHO won $700 million in promises at an event hosted in Berlin. This raises the total to $1 billion, demonstrating the support that the organization has received on a global scale for its work promoting health and handling global health emergencies.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director-general of WHO, underlined the vital significance of funding for health care, pointing out that the COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the extensive effects of health hazards. According to him, funding the WHO also contributes to the development of more secure, stable, and egalitarian economies and society. The WHO needs these funding in order to carry out its mission of enhancing healthcare access, preventing pandemics and other health emergencies, and promoting global health security.
One of the major donors, Germany, declared that it will provide at least 360 million euros ($392 million) to the WHO budget. Germany has been a significant donor to the Geneva-based health agency, along with the United States. Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, called for greater involvement from other countries, emphasizing that the financial load should be distributed among many rather than just a select group of significant donors. Scholz also emphasized the value of even tiny efforts, highlighting group accountability for global health.
WHO’s financial model has come under fire in recent years; it has been called “fundamentally rotten” due to its reliance on voluntary contributions from states and organizations. Because a large portion of the organization’s budget is prone to variations dependent on the priorities of individual donors, this makes it difficult to ensure consistent, sustainable support. Members of WHO decided to change the funding structure two years ago in order to address this problem.
By 2030–2031, mandatory payments from WHO member states would make up as much as 50% of the budget, up from just 16% in previous years, under the terms of the new agreement. By making this change, WHO hopes to increase its funding stability and dependability, which will enable it to better address the demands of global health and lessen its reliance on the voluntary contributions of individual governments.
It is anticipated that this increased financial commitment will support WHO’s position in global health governance and allow it to continue pursuing its goal of guaranteeing the best possible standard of health for all people.
SOURCE :
THE PRINT
