In an unprecedented show of unity in support of the World Health Organization (WHO), 14 African countries and many partners pledged over US$ 45 million to the WHO Investment Round, a three-month-old initiative aimed at generating sustainable financing for the organization at the center of the global health architecture.
And Nigeria was missing in the 14 African including Botswana, Cabo Verde, Chad, Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Mauritius, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, and the United Republic of Tanzania.
A statement by the global health body said that “the commitments were made during the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa, with Heads of State and Government from across the continent underscoring the importance of investing in global health and ensuring a strong WHO.
“I thank our African Region Member States for actively supporting WHO’s first Investment Round to mobilize predictable and flexible resources needed for our core work over the next four years,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Full, sustainable funding will enable WHO to support countries better in their work to build healthier, more resilient, and more prosperous populations.”
The WHO Regional Committee for Africa meeting was held in Brazzaville, Congo on Tuesday.
The statement noted that “countries and partners came together for the historic event aimed at sustainably funding WHO and thus enabling it to more effectively fulfil its mandate and advance key objectives to promote, provide and protect health and well-being for all.
“Many partners joined Members States in making commitments of support to WHO and committing to providing pledges later in the year, including Helmsley Charitable Trust, World Diabetes Foundation, Roche, Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, African Development Bank and the WHO Foundation.”
“A strong, predictable and sustainably financed WHO is essential for our region and the world to meet the multiple health threats we face; and support the prevention of disease based on the vast evidence at our disposal,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “Every pledge and every partnership counts. Together, we can achieve a future where health and well-being are accessible to all.”
The WHO Investment Round will continue in the coming months and feature key pledging moments around the world.
Launched at the World Health Assembly in May 2024, the Investment Round aims to generate contributions that are flexible and thereby aligned with WHO’s strategy as approved by its Member States; predictably provided at the start of the four-year budget cycle to enable strategic decision-making; and resilient in that they will derive from a larger, more diverse set of donors.