WHO issues guidance to address drastic global health financing cuts

WHO Issues Guidance to Address Global Health Financing Cuts

The World Health Organization (WHO) released new guidance to help countries respond to the immediate and long-term consequences of severe reductions in external health funding. These financial shocks are disrupting essential health services across many nations.

New Guidance on Financing Stability

The guidance, titled “Responding to the health financing emergency: immediate measures and longer-term shifts”, presents various policy options for governments to stabilize funding and ensure sustainable financing for national health systems.

Impact of Funding Reductions

WHO estimates that external health aid will decline by 30% to 40% in 2025 compared with 2023. This decrease has led to critical service disruptions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), affecting maternal healthcare, vaccination programs, emergency response capabilities, and disease surveillance. In some regions, up to 70% of core health services have been impacted.

Consequences for Health Workers

More than 50 nations reported significant job losses among health and care workers, as well as interruptions to health worker training programmes. These reductions threaten long-term workforce capacity and public health resilience.

“Sudden and unplanned cuts to aid have hit many countries hard, costing lives and jeopardizing hard-won health gains,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

Author’s Summary

WHO warns that deep aid cuts are undermining health systems globally, calling for swift and strategic action to restore funding stability and protect essential medical services.

more

World Health Organization (WHO) World Health Organization (WHO) — 2025-11-04

More News