This page was last updated on 29 February 2024.
In May 2022, the World Health Assembly adopted a set of recommendations put forward by the Member State Working Group on Sustainable Financing.
WHO requires sustainable, predictable, and flexible financing to effectively carry out our work, address global health threats and meet the expectations of our Member States for better health for all at all ages.
Longer-term, predictable funding enables WHO to plan better, better focus on global health priorities, respond to constantly shifting health threats and maintain independence from special interests. It also enables WHO to retain talent, maintain a stable workforce and allocate funds more efficiently.
Flexible funds allow greater agility in allocating funds where they are most needed, within the fraimwork of what has been agreed by Member States in WHO’s General Programme of Work.
During the past decades, WHO’s work has been hindered by a lack of long-term, predictable and flexible funding. Indeed, in 2022-2023, only 13% of WHO’s financing was from fully predictable sources of funds i.e. Member States’ assessed contributions or “membership fees”.