Ministers from multiple countries hit by the abrupt cuts in external funding for health have agreed on the urgent need for country-owned and -implemented strategies and a laser-sharp focus on health data.
In a press statement, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that people in at least 70 countries are missing out on treatment due to global funding cuts.
He told WHO members at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva that in at least 70 countries, patients are missing out on treatments, health facilities have closed, health workers have lost their jobs, and people face increased out-of-pocket health spending.
WHO is currently facing a USD 600 million hole in its annual budget and cuts of 21 per cent over the next two-year period.
The ministers attending the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly in Geneva agreed on the urgent need during ministerial dialogue co-hosted by WHO and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation at the
Professor Senait Fisseha, Vice President of Global Programs at the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, set the tone by noting that the crisis presents an opportunity for a turnaround in how health financing policies and health data systems are built and operated.
Specifically, this is a time for countries to reduce their reliance on external health information systems and external financing; build out their domestic data infrastructure, from vital statistics to downstream impact and return on investment; and establish resilient systems designed to withstand shocks so that access to essential services is protected.
Professor Fisseha called on countries to rethink data and financing in a way that best meets the needs of their people for countries to truly lead and for funders and development partners to start to learn how to follow.
“Data and financing are a natural place to start because that is where ministers are telling us to start,” he said
Dr Tedros said that data and sustainable financing are not just technical matters but are political choices and shape who is reached, how quickly, and with what quality of care, and they determine whether we progress or fall behind.
“From expanding domestic financing to pioneering real-time data systems, many of you are advancing solutions that are scalable, sustainable and rooted in equity,” he added
Ministers from Barbados, Central African Republic, Egypt, Liberia, Malawi, Rwanda and Sierra Leone, and representatives from the African Union and the World Bank, among others, shared experiences and advice on concrete actions to strengthen data systems, health financing and planning – urging intensified collaboration in the future. They also spoke of the need to leverage the digital transformation and thereby increase transparency and accountability.
Also discussed were strategies to improve domestic financing capacity while maximizing impact, which include strengthening tax administration; exploring revenue sources such as taxes on such items as food, alcohol and tobacco; and setting up population-wide mandatory health coverage schemes, coupled with subsidies for low-income households and vulnerable population groups.
Other strategies are promoting strategic purchasing of health supplies, prioritizing health in public spending, and integrating externally funded programmes into domestic financing systems and priorities.
Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Health, Adan Duale, who is attending the event, had said Kenya as a country will remain steadfast in its commitment to championing the people’s first policy, fostering strong partnerships and actively contributing to health dialogues that clearly affirm the right to health for every individual.
The Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly is being held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 19–27 May 2025. The theme of this year’s Health Assembly is ‘One World for Health.
By Wangari Ndirangu
