The World Health Organization confirmed – yesterday, Monday – that there is an urgent need to take action to secure funding for basic health systems in many countries that are drowning in massive debt, while facing a decrease in aid.
The Director-General of the Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, warned – during a meeting in Geneva of member states of the African Union – that “the world is currently facing a global emergency in health financing, which requires coordinated and urgent action.”
The World Health Organization published – on Monday – a series of recommendations aimed at confronting the direct and long-term effects of the radical and severe reductions in international aid, which have led to the significant disruption of basic health services in many regions.
Under the administration of US President Donald Trump, the United States – which has traditionally been the world’s largest donor – has significantly reduced its foreign aid, which has had disastrous consequences around the world, at a time when other major donors have also reduced their spending.
The World Health Organization indicated that the overall decline in international aid related to the health sector for the year 2025 is expected to exceed 30% compared to 2023, at a time when March data showed direct disruptions in health services in about 70% of low- or middle-income countries.
Ghebreyesus said, “The radical budget cuts have caused severe disruptions in health systems and services,” noting that “a third of countries are now reporting a severe shortage of essential medicines and health programs.”
He added that the Covid-19 pandemic had led to “enormous debts and a growing reduction in budgetary margins, exacerbating the problem resulting from decades of underinvestment in health from national budgets.”
However, the Director-General of the World Health Organization saw the current crisis as offering “an opportunity to turn the page on an era of aid dependence and embrace a new era of sovereignty, independence and solidarity.”
In this context, Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Peter Sands, pointed out that the matter has become “more important to the extent that African countries are accelerating their progress towards self-reliance.”
In its new recommendations, the World Health Organization urged the countries concerned to increase their investments in the health sector and to give priority to the poorest groups.
She also called for maintaining health budgets, even during periods of budget cuts, and for using evaluations to prioritize services and products that have the greatest impact on health.
In Africa, where health systems are at risk and affected by aid cuts, many countries are seeking to increase their health expenditures with the aim of reducing their dependence on international aid.
For example, Nigeria increased its health budget by $200 million this year in order to make up for aid shortfalls, while Ghana raised the ceiling on consumption tax (indirect tax) allocated to the National Health Insurance Agency, increasing its budget by 60%.
The Commissioner for Health of the African Union in Ghana, Ama Tum Amoah, emphasized that “increasing spending on health is not a cost, but rather a very profitable investment.”