World Health Assembly agrees historic decision to sustainably finance WHO

Right this moment, on the seventy fifth World Well being Meeting, Member States agreed to undertake a landmark determination to enhance the World Well being Group’s financing mannequin.

The choice adopted, in full, the suggestions of a Sustainable Financing Working Group made up of WHO’s Member States, which was arrange in January 2021 and chaired by Björn Kümmel, from Germany.

In one of many key suggestions within the Working Group’s report back to the Well being Meeting, Member States goal a gradual enhance of their assessed contributions (membership dues) to characterize 50% of WHO’s core funds by the 2030-2031 funds cycle, on the newest. Within the final funds biennium, 2020-2021, assessed contributions represented solely 16% of the accredited programme funds.

The report consists of different suggestions, akin to exploring the feasibility of a replenishment mechanism to broaden the financing base. It additionally asks the WHO Secretariat to work with a Member States activity group to strengthen WHO’s governance, which can make suggestions on transparency, effectivity, accountability and compliance. The duty group’s work will assist make sure that will increase to Member States’ assessed contributions might be accompanied by additional reforms to the best way the Group operates.

WHO’s present financing mannequin has been recognized by many consultants as posing a threat to the integrity and independence of its work. WHO’s over-reliance on voluntary contributions, with a big proportion earmarked for particular areas of labor, ends in an ongoing misalignment between organizational priorities and the flexibility to finance them. The suggestions as we speak are designed to considerably deal with these shortcomings.

It’s meant that the gradual enhance to assessed contributions will begin with WHO’s 2024-25 funds, with a proposed 20% enhance over the assessed contributions within the accredited 2022-23 base funds. The purpose is to succeed in 50% of WHO’s funds by 2028-2029 if potential, and by 2030-31 on the newest, up from the present 16% in 2020-21. This might imply that by 2028-2029, WHO would see a rise of roughly US$ 600 million a yr within the a part of its earnings that comes from probably the most sustainable and predictable sources.

Extra predictable and sustainable funding for WHO makes financial sense for the Group’s contributors, with its new funding case ‘A Wholesome Return’ displaying that each US greenback invested in WHO delivers a return on funding of a minimum of 35 US {dollars}. Sustainable financing will higher equip WHO to ship extra successfully for all its Member States and their populations, for instance by means of longer-term programming in nations and attracting and retaining experience.

WHO Director-Normal Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mentioned, “This determination addresses head-on the decades-long problem WHO has confronted on predictable, versatile and sustainable funding. Delivering on the goal they’ve agreed as we speak will imply our Member States are empowering WHO to fulfill their expectations and actually fulfill our mandate because the world’s main international well being authority.” “Approaching the day I’m re-elected, this determination offers all of us at WHO renewed confidence as we face the long run,” he added.

Björn Kümmel, deputy head of the worldwide well being division at Germany’s Federal Ministry of Well being and chair of WHO’s Working Group on Sustainable Funding, mentioned. “This determination is about nothing lower than the long run function of WHO in international well being. Even past that, it’s about what we envisage for the worldwide well being structure: a much less fragmented, higher coordinated, extra environment friendly and actually inclusive international well being governance with a essentially strengthened WHO at its centre because the enabled main and coordinating authority.”