WHO’s ‘Investment Round’ - will mimicking global health partnerships’ replenishment model pay off?
In November 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold its first “investment round” with the goal of raising USD 7.1 billion. The agency hopes to secure more predictable funding, flexible grants, and widen its donor base after decades of struggling to attract funding. The WHO’s “investment round” mimics the fundraising approach of global health partnerships like Gavi and the Global Fund, which raise voluntary donor contributions in multiyear funding cycles known as replenishments. However, it is unclear whether this model will work for the WHO. This article argues that the WHO competes on unfair grounds with the partnerships that are also currently seeking replenishment within an increasingly tight funding environment. Compared with the WHO, the partnerships can more easily demonstrate a “return on investment” and draw on years of experience fundraising this way, backed by support from powerful global advocacy coalitions and the Gates Foundation. A replenishment-style model also pushes the WHO towards a problematic private sector “investment” logic. The article argues that the WHO should be fully funded for the unquantifiable services it delivers to as a normative agency and coordinator of global health efforts – rather than for doubtful estimates of its impact in terms of lives saved.
Policy Recommendations
- The WHO should use its investment case as an advocacy tool cautiously, as it might alter its priorities and weaken its legitimacy as a public and normative agency.
- All countries should increase their membership dues to WHO’s budget, as agreed in 2022. In addition, middle-income countries should increase their voluntary contributions, while major donors should uphold the high levels of theirs, but change their grants to make them more flexible, longer, and more predictable.
- The WHO should establish clear indicators to evaluate the impact of its ‘investment round’, showing transparently whether the funding secured is more flexible, predictable, and resilient than before.
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