By Muhammad Amaan
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has pledged support to countries in their efforts to mitigate the health impacts caused by sudden and unplanned funding cuts.
WHO’s Director-General, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, made this announcement on Thursday during an online media conference on global health issues.
“At our last briefing, I discussed the impact of recent funding cuts on global health.
“Since then, WHO has compiled feedback from more than 100 countries to better understand the impact and the support these countries need to address it,” Ghebreyesus said.
He said that the results revealed severe disruptions to health services in nearly three-quarters of the countries surveyed, with one-quarter reporting the closure of health facilities.
He said additionally, WHO reported an increase in out-of-pocket payments for healthcare services in a quarter of the countries.
“We are seeing job losses for health and care workers, disruptions to information systems, and shortages of medicines and health products.
“In response, countries are revising budgets, cutting costs, and strengthening fundraising and partnerships.”
He said that WHO had been working with countries for many years to support their transition from aid dependency to sustainable self-reliance based on domestic resources.
Dr Ghebreyesus said for example, South Africa’s parliament had approved an additional 1.5 billion dollars for its 2025 health budget.
“Nigeria has allocated an additional 200 million dollars to health in its 2025 budget, and Kenya’s health ministry has requested an additional 250 million dollars from the National Treasury to support health services.
“Additionally, Ghana is also taking steps to bridge its financing gap in the health sector,” he said.
Dr Ghebreyesus mentioned that countries were requesting WHO’s assistance with innovative fundraising and specialised technical support, and that the organisation was doing its utmost to fulfil these needs.
He outlined several key principles that WHO advised countries to follow in these challenging times.
“Prioritise the poorest and prevent exposure to impoverishing out-of-pocket health spending. Protect health budgets and resist reductions in public health spending.
“Channel donor funds through national budgets, ensuring alignment with national
priorities and using a unified approach of “one plan, one budget, one report.
“Avoid cutting services or closing facilities by absorbing impacts through efficiency gains in health systems, such as improving procurement, minimising overheads, and pooling purchases.”
The director general also mentioned tools countries could use to generate new sources of revenue.
In the short term, he suggested introducing or increasing taxes on health-harming products such as tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks.
“Countries like Colombia, The Gambia, the Philippines, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Timor Leste, and Thailand have introduced such taxes in recent years, seeing a decrease in consumption and an increase in revenues.”
In the longer term, Dr Ghebreyesus recommended that countries without social or community-based health insurance should introduce it.
“This system allows individuals or families to contribute small amounts to a fund that finances health services.”
He acknowledged that these measures might not be suitable for every country, especially those with weak tax collection or large informal sectors.
Dr Ghebreyesus said these countries would need substantial loans from development banks at concessional rates, and WHO was collaborating with them to develop the most suitable solutions.
In early April, WHO convened more than 350 experts from 15 countries to test a new initiative aimed at deploying and connecting health expertise during emergencies.
It said the two-day simulation, called Exercise Polaris, tested WHO’s Global Health Emergency Corps, a framework designed to strengthen countries’ emergency health workforces and enhance international collaboration during health crises.
“The exercise simulated an outbreak of a fictional virus spreading globally and provided a rare opportunity for governments to test their preparedness in a realistic setting.”
Ghebreyesus noted that the exercise showed successful rapid information sharing and surge responses but highlighted areas in need of improvement, such as strengthening connections between technical leaders.
“This exercise reaffirmed the need for all countries to continue investing in their emergency health workforce and scalable mechanisms that can rapidly expand during crises,” he said.
On April 10, WHO also issued its first-ever guidelines for the diagnosis, treatment, and care of meningitis.
“With an estimated 2.5 million cases worldwide each year, meningitis can be caused by various viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites.
“The most dangerous form, bacterial meningitis, has a fatality rate of one in six and can cause lifelong disabilities in survivors.
“These new guidelines will help save lives, improve long-term care, and strengthen health systems.
“They also contribute to the global plan to defeat meningitis by 2030,” Ghebreyesus said.
