World Health Organisation member states have approved a 20 per cent increase in assessed contributions as they endorsed the organisation’s 2026 to 2027 budget of $4.2 billion.

In a statement, the WHO said the 20 per cent increase came as governments faced financial constraints and economic headwinds, and it demonstrated member states’ fundamental support for global health solidarity and the critical role of WHO.

WHO director-general Tedros Ghebreyesus and other senior leaders thanked member states for their support and partnership.

Mr Ghebreyesus noted their profound vote of confidence in WHO’s mission and their commitment to health security and resilience worldwide.

“Insufficient levels of predictable funding of WHO have hindered its ability to carry out long-term projects and support its global operations to promote health for all.

“In addition, over-reliance on funding from a small set of traditional donors were identified as major organisational challenges as part of WHO’s Transformation initiative that launched in 2017,” Mr Ghebreyesus said.

According to him, in 2022, WHO member states agreed on a historic increase in their assessed contributions by gradually increasing their membership dues to represent 50 per cent of WHO’s core budget by the 2030 to 2031 cycle, at the latest.

He said that in the 2020 to 2021 biennium, assessed contributions represented only 16 per cent of the approved programme budget.

While this work began years ago, due to recent changes in the global financial landscape, sustainable financing is more important than ever before, according to the WHO.

WHO’s originally approved 2026 to 2027 programme budget was downsized 22 per cent from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion due to financial constraints.

“Today’s approval of WHO’s base programme budget of $4.2 billion for 2026 to 2027 is the first to be fully developed based on the organisation’s 14th General Programme of Work, 2025 to 2028, its global health strategy for the next four years,” the WHO stated.

(NAN)