Working toward a sustainably financed WHO

Working toward a sustainably financed WHO

WHO Bangladesh
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The WHO Executive Board established the Sustainable Financing Working Group by a decision at its 148th Session, aiming to resolve the deep discrepancy between the world’s expectations of WHO and the Organization’s financial resources. Chaired by Björn Kümmel of Germany, the Working Group convened seven times between March 2021 to April 2022 to seek long-term solutions for the financing of WHO.

Representatives from all Member States participated in discussions on making WHO’s funding more predictable and flexible. A key problem was that the level of assessed contributions – which represent truly flexible funds – had remained largely static over the past decades. In 2020-2021, only 16% of WHO’s financing was from assessed contributions and thus truly predictable. Relying so heavily on the generosity of donors for the other 84% was considered a threat to WHO’s independence, agility and ability to remain the world’s leading coordinating authority in global health.

The Working Group agreed in its fourth meeting (27-29 September 2021) that a report containing an agreed-upon package of recommendations would be taken to the 150th Executive Board Session in January 2022. However, the fifth meeting, in December 2021, ended without a consensus. While Member States had agreed on some of the recommendations, the decision to include an increase in assessed contributions failed to draw the necessary support. The Executive Board resolved that the Working Group continue to seek consensus and present a report to the WHA75 in May 2022. 

The Working Group agreed on a set of recommendations at the end of its seventh meeting.

                                                                       
                                                                       

Recommendations

  • that the Secretariat and Member States boost funding for WHO, particularly seeking out funding that is sustainable, predictable, and fully flexible - or at least thematic;
  • that budget proposals include a gradual increase in Member States' membership dues (assessed contributions), with the goal of covering half of the 2022-2023 base budget by the 2030-2031 biennium, and if possible even earlier, by the 2028-2029 biennium;
  • that fully flexible funds cover WHO's core programme budget as a means to secure the Organization's financial independence and increase its efficiency;
  • that the WHO Secretariat launch initiatives to strengthen governance, transparency, accountability and compliance;
  • that WHO explore the feasibility of creating a replenishment mechanism to broaden its financing base; and
  • that the WHO Secretariat work with an agile Member State task group to build on budgetary oversight and accountability initiatives.