WHO Needs USD1 Billion to Address Health Crises in 36 Countries by 2026

JAKARTA - The World Health Organization (WHO) has requested USD1 billion to address this year's health crisis in 36 countries, with the world's most severe emergencies, including in Gaza, Sudan, Haiti, and Afghanistan.

WHO's Emergency Health Chief, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said his organization was hit by a massive cut in foreign aid from rich countries to the WHO.

"We are very concerned about the huge need and how we will meet it," Ihekweazu told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday local time, quoted by AFP.

With this situation, he said, WHO made its emergency request much lower than in previous years.

He also said that WHO must be realistic about how much help will come in given the conditions.

"We made some of the hardest choices we've ever had to make," he continued.

The WHO estimates that as many as 239 million people need urgent humanitarian assistance this year.

The amount of money needed by the WHO, he continued, to keep essential health services running.

"A quarter of a billion people are living in humanitarian crises that deprive them of the most basic protections: safety, shelter, and access to health care," Ihekweazu said.

"In this situation, health needs increase rapidly, whether due to injuries, outbreaks of disease, malnutrition, or untreated chronic diseases," he continued.

The US was previously the largest donor to the WHO. However, it has now cut foreign aid spending under the control of US President Donald Trump, who on his first day back in office in January 2025, confirmed that his country was withdrawing from the WHO for one year.

Last year, the WHO asked for $1.5 billion, but Ihekweazu said only $900 million was received - an amount that was below 2016.

"We have adjusted our requests a little more in line with what is realistically available, understanding the situation around the world, the constraints that many countries face," he said.