Hi,

Ahead of the World Health Assembly next week, we bring you a primer on WHO financing, including efforts towards a prioritization of its activities in the light of the current budget crunch, and put together a picture of how the numbers add up.

On a sunny Sunday morning, I poured over these documents, so our reader do not have to! Hope you find this useful as a ready reckoner on the state of WHO’s financial health.

More from us in the coming days.

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I. WHA78 PRIMER ON FINANCING

Austerity Induced Global Health Prioritization at the World Health Organization

Geopolitics and a contracting development finance landscape is circumscribing the field of global health.

At the World Health Assembly next week, WHO member states will consider a smaller budget than initially agreed: US$4.2 billion for 2026-2027.

Countries have also indicated top five high priority areas where they would need WHO’s expertise:

• Emphasis on primary healthcare, and accelerate universal health coverage;

• Equity in access to quality services improved for noncommunicable diseases, mental health conditions and communicable diseases, while addressing antimicrobial resistance;

• Reducing priority risk factors for noncommunicable and communicable diseases, violence and injury, and poor nutrition; improving health and care workforce, health financing and access to quality-assured health products;

• Enhancing Preparedness, readiness and resilience for health emergencies.

These difficult choices have to be made in the context of the changes set in motion in January 2025 when the U.S. announced a withdrawal from the organization, followed by a few other donor countries planning cuts to their aid budgets.

In this story, we examine the reprioritization exercise undertaken over the last few months and the overall picture of the state of WHO finances. The analysis is based on the multiple reports that countries will be considered next week at the World Health Assembly.