Dear colleagues and friends,
Thank you for joining us today.
Let me begin by thanking the UN Foundation and its network for organizing this session, and thank you all for your support and advocacy for a stronger and sustainably financed WHO.
Last week, I had the privilege of writing to the Heads of Government of all Member States, regarding the recent decision of the Special Session of the World Health Assembly to negotiate a new convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
The adoption of this decision is cause for celebration, but it is only one element of strengthening global health security.
As you know, there have been many reviews of the global response. And all of them have concluded that the world needs a strong, empowered and sustainably funded WHO at the centre of the global health architecture.
Over several decades, WHO has been progressively weakened by a debilitating imbalance between assessed contributions – or the membership fees paid by Member States – and voluntary, earmarked contributions.
WHO relies on voluntary contributions for over 80 percent of our budget. That is far more than most other UN agencies.
This imbalance distorts our budget and constrains our ability to do long-term programming to deliver the high-quality normative and technical work that is expected of WHO.
Redressing this imbalance is of vital importance if WHO is to be the independent and authoritative global health leader the world needs it to be.
Our experts would far rather be supporting countries, developing guidance and getting the world back on track for the SDGs; instead, they spend a significant portion of their time fundraising.
With over 2000 awards, with different reporting requirements, the constant fundraising diverts attention and resources away from our technical work.
More sustainable finance will also allow us to invest long-term in accountability and oversight.
So, it’s not just about the money, it’s about WHO’s independence.
This is where we need your support.
This week, the Member States Working Group on Sustainable Financing for WHO met for the fifth time, to discuss its report for the WHO Executive Board in January.
It’s clear that our Member States take the issue of flexible and sustainable financing very seriously. There was strong support from many Member States for the key recommendation of increasing assessed contributions to at least 50% of WHO’s base budget.
Although the Working Group did not reach consensus on its report, we are pleased that the report includes the 50% target as one option for consideration, and we hope that the Executive Board will support this idea.
You’ll be hearing more about that in a minute from Björn Kümmel, the chair of the working group and the Deputy Head of the Global Health Division at Germany’s Federal Ministry of Health.
Your advocacy will be essential in the lead up to the Executive Board, and the World Health Assembly in May.
And we seek your continued advocacy in supporting WHO to support countries to respond to the pandemic, to build more resilient health systems, and to get back on track for the health-related targets in the SDGs.
Thank you once again for your support and commitment to WHO’s mission to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable.
Gaudenz, back to you.