Donors pledge over $220m to WHO ahead of US exit
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The WHO had been seeking to overhaul its funding model to make it less dependent on donations from a few big economies.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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GENEVA - China, Qatar, Switzerland and others pledged over US$170 million (S$220 million) to the World Health Organisation (WHO) at its assembly on May 20, the agency said, and countries also accepted higher fees to help offset the expected loss of the US, the top donor.
“In a challenging climate for global health, these funds will help us to preserve and extend our life-saving work,” Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said in a statement on new donations covering 2025-2028.
A WHO list showed that host Switzerland gave US$40 million, Sweden gave US$13.5 million, Angola gave US$8 million, and Qatar gave US$6 million, while other pledges came from the Novo Nordisk Foundation and Elma Philanthropies.
It did not include an earlier US$500 million pledge from China, since the WHO said calculations are ongoing.
“These efforts deliver a strong signal of China’s support to WHO during this reform process,” said Dr Lei Haichao, China’s health minister.
A spokesperson for China’s diplomatic mission said this pledge included both mandatory fees and voluntary donations and support for other projects.
Even before the current financial crisis, the WHO had been seeking to overhaul its funding model to make it less dependent on donations from a few big economies. Washington had provided 18 per cent of its funding.
US President Donald Trump, who has criticised the body for its handling of Covid-19, announced his intention to withdraw
On May 20, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr dismissed the WHO as “moribund”
The WHO has already revised down its 2026-2027 budget by a fifth to US$4.2 billion and cut management posts.
The new budget, formally adopted on May 20 by the assembly which is seeking to address the funding crisis, will increase countries’ mandatory fees by 20 per cent over the next two years and make China the new top state donor.
“Our common goal must be to initiate prompt reforms to safeguard the organisation,” said Dr Bjorn Kummel, head of Unit Global Health in Germany’s Health Ministry. REUTERS
