This comes as the risks of pandemics, drug-resistant infections and fragile health services increase, the WHO Director-General said.
Addressing the WHO Executive Board in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the impact of staff reductions last year due to “significant reductions in our funding”, which had far-reaching consequences.
“Sudden and severe reductions in bilateral aid have also caused enormous disruption 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.
Even though the WHO has managed to continue its work to save lives, Tedros said the funding crisis has exposed deeper vulnerabilities in global health governance, particularly in low- and middle-income countries struggling to maintain essential services.
What is the program?
The WHO Executive Board has a broad agenda covering pandemic preparedness, immunization, antimicrobial resistance, mental health and health emergencies in conflict zones.
Key issue: Members also examine budgetary pressures, governance reform and formal notifications of withdrawal from the United States and Argentina.
Why it’s important: The discussions come as global health risks rise, even as international cooperation and predictable financing come under strain.
What’s next: The results of this week’s meeting will be taken to the World Health Assembly in May, determining WHO’s direction amid growing geopolitical and public health pressures.
Click here for more information on the session, and here for our recent coverage of major global health issues.
High stakes
The WHO funding crisis is part of a broader withdrawal of international health funding, forcing countries to make difficult choices, he added.
“In response to funding cuts, WHO is helping many countries maintain essential health services and transition from dependence on assistance to autonomysaid Tedros, highlighting domestic resource mobilization – including higher health taxes on tobacco, alcohol and sugary drinks – as a key strategy.
Yet the scale of unmet need remains vast.
According to the 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 is expected to face a shortage of 11 million health workers by 2030, more than half of whom are nurses.
A deeper crisis averted
Tedros said the WHO had avoided a bigger financial shock only because member states agreed to increase mandatory contributionsthereby reducing the agency’s reliance on voluntary and earmarked funding.
“If you had not approved the increase in statutory contributions, we would have been in a much worse situation than we are in now,” he told the Board of Directors.
Thanks to these reforms, WHO has mobilized around 85 percent of the resources needed for its core budget for 2026–2027. But Tedros warned that the remaining deficit would be “difficult to mobilize”, particularly in a difficult global financing environment.
“Even if 85% looks good – and it is – the environment is very challenging,” 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. (archive photo)
Gains have been made
Despite the financial climate, there have been some notable plays made in recent months.
Tedros highlighted last year’s adoption of the Pandemic Accord and the amendment to the International Health Regulations (IHR), aimed at strengthening preparedness in the wake of COVID-19.
The WHO has also expanded disease surveillance, deployed epidemic intelligence systems based on artificial intelligence (AI), and helped countries respond to hundreds of health emergencies in 2025 – many of which never gained public attention because the outbreaks were contained quickly.
However, one in six bacterial infections worldwide are now resistant to antibiotics, Tedros said, calling the trend worrying and accelerating in some regions.
“Solidarity is the best immunity”
“The pandemic has taught us all many lessons, including that global threats require a global response,” Tedros said. “Solidarity is the best immunity.”
He warned that without predictable and sufficient funding, the world risks being less prepared – not more – for the next health emergency.
“This is your WHO,” Tedros told the Board, “its strength lies in your unity. His future is your choice.»
