WHO Launches Investment Round to Secure Sustainable Funding

The launch event, held on the eve of the Seventy-Seventh World Health Assembly, marks the beginning of a year-long series of engagements and events.

The World Health Organization (WHO) launched its inaugural Investment Round on Sunday, initiating a transformative approach to its funding model in response to contemporary global challenges such as climate change, mass migration, pandemic threats, an ageing population, and geopolitical turbulence.

The launch event, held on the eve of the Seventy-Seventh World Health Assembly, marks the beginning of a year-long series of engagements and events. These will be co-hosted by various countries, inviting Member States and donors to contribute to WHO’s strategy for 2025-2028 and demonstrate high-level political support for the organization and global health initiatives.

The Investment Round will culminate in a major pledging event hosted by Brazil around the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November.

“It’s about ensuring WHO is fully funded and improving the quality of the funding we receive. Much of the funding we receive is unpredictable, reactive, and tightly defined,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the opening event. “The Investment Round aims to change that by generating funding that is more flexible, predictable, and resilient.”

WHO’s third investment case, to be launched at the Health Assembly on May 28, projects that full funding of the Fourteenth General Programme of Work (GPW 14) will help save 40 million lives from 2025-2028.

During the high-level event, Brazil announced its commitment to host significant events, including the G20 Leaders’ Summit in November, to support the Investment Round and mobilize global participation.

“Global problems need global solutions, and no other organization is better positioned to provide us the opportunity to achieve these solutions,” said Brazil’s Minister of Health Nísia Trindade.

Qatar’s Minister of Health, Dr. Hanan Mohamed Al Kuwari, pledged US$ 4 million in fully flexible funds to the Investment Round and signaled further contributions.

“Health care is a fundamental human right, and we must continue to invest in the World Health Organization to safeguard our health. Unity is the key to our success,” Dr. Mohamed Al Kuwari emphasized.

France, Germany, and Norway announced their roles as co-hosts for the Investment Round.

“The WHO must be the guardian of scientific rigor, the whistleblower, and the conductor of global health actions,” said Frédéric Valletoux, France’s Minister Delegate in charge of Health and Prevention.

“Member States need to deliver more predictable, more flexible, and sufficient funding for the WHO,” said Norway’s Health Minister Jan Christian Vestre.

Additional endorsements came from Dr. Gabriel Leung of the Institute of Philanthropy and former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, WHO’s Ambassador for Global Health Financing.

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley received a Global Health Leaders Award for lifetime achievement and underscored the importance of the Investment Round for Small Island Developing States.

“We live in a world where we ought to know better, and what is being asked for is minuscule compared to other expenditures,” Prime Minister Mottley remarked.

The launch event also celebrated the winners of WHO’s Health for All Film Festival, with awards presented by Indian actor and filmmaker Nandita Das.

The event featured performances by renowned Egyptian opera singer Farrah El-Dibany and Franco-American pianist Jeff Cohen. A post-event reception hosted by Germany included remarks from basketball star Pau Gasol and a performance by Sherrie Silver and young dancers.

The WHO Executive Board approved the Investment Round in January, addressing the need for more predictable and flexible funding to match the Organization’s expanding mandate. By 2022-23, only 13% of WHO’s budget was covered by Member States’ assessed contributions, leaving WHO reliant on unpredictable voluntary contributions.

The Investment Round, a key recommendation from the WHO Working Group on Sustainable Financing, aims to ensure more sustainable funding. Member States have also approved an increase in assessed contributions, targeting 50% coverage of WHO’s base budget by 2030. The Investment Round seeks to broaden WHO’s donor base, attracting contributions from new Member States and private sector donors through the WHO Foundation.