Following Trump's decision to withdraw US funding from the WHO, a senior executive launched a campaign to raise $1 billion. But which countries funded the organization in 2024?
After Trump ordered the US to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), concerns about future funding arose.
In 2024, the US was the world's largest source of funding for WHO, contributing €920.9 million.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation comes second with around €662.5 million, while the European Commission is in fourth place with around €396.4 million.
Germany is the EU country that provides the most financial support to the WHO, contributing approximately 312 million euros.
The World Health Organization is funded by a combination of fees from member countries - which are based on the gross domestic product of countries - and voluntary contributions from governments, non-profit organizations and other groups. Approximately 24.35 % of total funding is allocated to improving access to quality basic health services.
23.68 % of funding is earmarked for polio eradication and 19.84 % for acute health emergencies.
Given that most contributions are tied to specific initiatives, including disease prevention and public health campaigns, a U.S. withdrawal would be a significant blow to the organization's future projects.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus however, said at a press conference in December that the organization can adapt to the loss of U.S. government support.
Raising funds individually
In an effort to address the funding shortfall created by the United States' withdrawal from the WHO following Trump's decision to leave, a WHO staff member launched the "1 Dollar, 1 World" campaign.
Tania Cernuschi, a 10-year WHO employee working to improve access to vaccines, hopes to raise $1 billion (CZK 960,750,000).
"What if we could prove that WHO still matters? If each of us, believing that the UN is not perfect but it's all we have, gave just $1." Cernuschi wrote on her donation website.
Cernuscio's campaign has so far raised approximately $70,076.95 (CZK 67,252.50).
Among the early supporters are senior WHO staff, including epidemiologist Marie Van Kerkhove, who became one of the agency's public faces during the COVID-19 pandemic.
euronews/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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