The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that it has secured USD 1 billion in pledges for its next budget i.e. for 2025-28, of which nearly USD 700 million pledges was made in terms of new funding commitments from various European nations, foundations and organisations and the remaining USD 300 million was from the previous commitments made by the European Union (EU) and African Union (AU).
- The announcement was made during the WHO Investment Round Signature Event which was co-hosted by Germany, France, and Norway, held at the World Health Summit in Berlin, Germany.
Note: The World Health Summit 2024, a leading global health conference and network, was held from 13th October to 14th October, 2024 in Germany under the theme: “Building Trust for a Healthier World”.
Key Target:
i.The WHO aims to raise USD 7.4 billion by the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) which is scheduled to be held in May 2025, in order to bridge the budget gap in its USD 11.1 billion strategy for 2025-28, known as the General Programme of Work 14 (GPW-14).
- During the 77th WHA held in May 2024 with the theme “All for Health, Health for All”, all member states of WHA have agreed to increase their membership fees from current 30% to 50% of WHO’s annual budget by 2030-31.
ii.It is estimated that this 4 year plan of WHO could save more than 40 million lives through health related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), stronger health systems and improved emergency responses.
Key Contributors to the WHO Budget for 2024-28:
i.Germany emerged as the major contributor to WHO’s funding among all European nations and has pledged nearly USD 400 million for a period of 4 years, with USD 260 million in new voluntary funding.
ii.Other European nations like: the European Union (EU), Norway and Ireland have made the commitment of USD 250 million, USD 100 million and USD 30 million, respectively to WHO budget for 2024-28.
iii.Also, some of the smaller nations and emerging nations joined the WHO’s funding drive for instance Montenegro made its 1st-ever donation to WHO i.e. of USD 80,000.
iv.While 17 African nations have pledged a total of USD 47 million, with Niger committing USD 2 million despite facing major economic challenges.
v.Some of the prominent global health foundations and health organisations have also made significant commitments for WHO funding drive like:
- The United Kingdom (UK)-based Wellcome, a charitable foundation, pledged USD 50 million.
- The Institute for Philanthropy, Resolve to Save Lives, and the World Diabetes Foundation pledged USD 10 million each.
- While, the WHO Foundation with the support of some of the pharmaceutical companies like: Boehringer Ingelheim and Novo Nordisk, has made a significant commitment of USD 50 million.
Recent Related News:
The World Health Organization (WHO) officially verified Jordan as the 1st country in the world to have eliminated leprosy (also known as Hansen’s disease), a chronic infectious disease caused by a bacteria, Mycobacterium leprae.
- Jordan has not reported any locally transmitted (autochthonous) cases of leprosy for over 2 decades. This achievement is seen as a significant step in public health efforts to eliminate leprosy worldwide.
About World Health Organisation (WHO):
Director General (DG)- Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Headquarters- Geneva, Switzerland
Established – 1948
