This comes as risks from pandemics, drug-resistant infections and fragile health services are increasing, the WHO director-general said.
Addressing the WHO executive in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus underlined the impact of workforce reductions last year due to “significant cuts in our funding”, which have had significant consequences.
“Sudden and severe cuts in bilateral aid have also caused huge disruptions to health systems and services in many countries,” he told health ministers and diplomats, describing 2025 as “one of the most difficult years” in the agency’s history.
While the WHO had managed to keep its life-saving work going, Tedros said the funding crisis revealed deeper vulnerabilities in global health governance, particularly in low- and middle-income countries struggling to maintain essential services.
What’s on the agenda?
The WHO Board has a comprehensive agenda covering pandemic preparedness, immunization, antimicrobial resistance, mental health and health emergencies in conflict areas.
Key questions: The members also review budget pressure, government reform and formal withdrawal notices from the United States and Argentina.
Why it’s important: The discussions come as global health risks rise, even as international cooperation and predictable funding are under pressure.
What’s next: The results of this week’s meeting will be forwarded to the World Health Assembly in May, which sets WHO’s direction amid mounting geopolitical and public health pressures.
Click here for more information about the session, and here for our latest coverage of key global health issues.
High effort
The WHO funding crisis is part of a wider retreat from international health funding that is forcing countries to make tough choices, he added.
“In response to funding cuts, WHO is supporting many countries to maintain essential health services and to transition away from aid dependence to self-reliance” Tedros said, pointing to the mobilization of domestic resources – including higher health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks – as a key strategy.
Nevertheless, the extent of unmet needs is still large.
According to WHO, 4.6 billion people still lack access to essential health services, while 2.1 billion face financial hardship due to health costs. At the same time, the world faces a projected shortage of 11 million health workers by 2030, more than half of them nurses.
Deeper crisis averted
Tedros said the WHO has avoided a more serious economic shock only because member countries have agreed to increase mandatory assessed contributionswhich reduces the agency’s reliance on voluntary earmarked funds.
“If you had not approved the increase in assessed contributions, we would have been in a far worse situation than we are,” he told the board.
Thanks to these reforms, WHO has mobilized about 85 percent of the required resources for its core budget for 2026-27. But Tedros warned that the remaining gap will be “difficult to mobilize”, especially in a difficult global funding environment.
“While 85 percent sounds good – and it is – the environment is very difficult,” he said, warning of “pockets of poverty” in underfunded priority areas such as emergency preparedness, antimicrobial resistance and climate resilience.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (file image)
Gains have been made
Despite the economic climate, some notable plays have been made in recent months.
Tedros highlighted the adoption last year of the Pandemic Agreement and amended International Health Regulations (IHR), aimed at strengthening preparedness in the wake of COVID-19.
WHO also expanded disease surveillance, rolled out artificial intelligence (AI)-powered epidemic intelligence systems and supported countries to respond to hundreds of health emergencies by 2025 – many of which never reached public attention because outbreaks were contained early.
But one in six bacterial infections globally is now resistant to antibiotics, Tedros said, describing the trend as worrying and accelerating in some regions.
“Solidarity is the best immunity”
“The pandemic taught us all many lessons – especially that global threats require a global response,” Tedros said. “Solidarity is the best immunity.”
He warned that without predictable and adequate funding, the world risks being less prepared – not more – for the next health emergency.
“This is your WHO,” Tedros told the board, “its strength is your unity. Its future is your choice.“
