On May 22, the World Health Organization (WHO) won the basic approval of key member countries for a budget package worth $5 billion over the next two years.
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| WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. (Source: The Online Citizen) |
The budget package also includes a 20% increase in mandatory membership fees for the 194 WHO member countries.
The new budget package was first proposed at the annual session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) last year, when all member states agreed on an overhaul of their resources. WHO's more stable and reliable support, after being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Within the framework of the 76th WHA taking place in Geneva (Switzerland), the key committee member countries adopted this budget with absolute support. However, the approval of all member states is still required for this 10-day session.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus welcomed the support of countries, calling this an important historic milestone.
The majority of WHO's operating budget is contributed by 194 member countries. Over the years, funding from the mandatory membership fee – calculated by wealth and population – has dropped to less than 20% of the budget, while the remainder is a voluntary contribution.
This has caused WHO to have limited financial resources to respond to global crises, typically the Covid-19 pandemic and a number of other health emergencies.
Last year, WHA agreed to increase the proportion of membership fees in WHO's operating budget in phases, specifically, the 2024-2025 budget will account for 20% of the 2022-2023 budget and up to the 2030 budget- 2031 reach the rate of 50%.
For its part, WHO has begun implementing 96 reforms aimed at greater transparency in financing and recruitment, as well as a greater accountability role.
So far, the organization has completed 42 reforms, and the remaining 54 are being implemented, the director general of Ghebreyesus said.
