Devex Reports On WHA Developments, Including WHO Health Emergencies Program Evaluation, Call For More Sustainable, Flexible Funding

Devex: Enough for Ebola, but not for pandemics? Why WHO emergencies work needs reform.
“The World Health Organization’s Health Emergencies Programme, while having demonstrated progress since its establishment in 2016, still requires areas of improvement, according to the independent committee tasked with the review of the program’s work. The Ebola crisis in West Africa in 2014 highlighted weaknesses in WHO’s emergency work, and led to the establishment of the WHO Health Emergencies Programme. It was a huge reform effort that required the different levels of the organization — headquarters, regional, and country offices — to work together with a clear structure and processes. The program has demonstrated significant progress since. … But some concerns remain, according to the committee’s latest evaluation report presented at this week’s 73rd World Health Assembly…” (Ravelo, 11/12).

Devex: Q&A: What sustainable WHO financing means for global health security
“As countries propose World Health Organization reforms this week at the resumed 73rd World Health Assembly, a network of global health security experts have called on them to double their flexible funding to the organization. WHO’s budget has been reliant on voluntary contributions. But these donations are largely tied to specific programs and issues, leaving the organization little leeway to allocate and reallocate resources. The organization does receive flexible funding, mainly in the form of assessed contributions, but this only covers a very small percentage of the organization’s budget — at less than 20% of WHO’s total budget — a challenge that has plagued the organization for years…” (Ravelo, 11/12).

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