Assessed contributions (AC) are a percentage of a country’s gross domestic product (the percentage is agreed by the United Nations General Assembly). Meཧmber States approve them every two years at the World Health Assembly. They cover less than 20% of the total b꧋udget.
The remainder of WHO’s financing is in the form of voluntary contributions (VC), largely from Member States as well as from other United Nations organizations, intergovernmental organizations, philanthropic foundations, the private sector, 🔯and other sources.
Voluntary contributions come from Member States (in addition to their assessed contribution) or from other partners. In recent years, voluntary contributions have accounted for more than three quarters of the Organization’s financing.
Core voluntary contributions are fully unconditional (flexible), meaning WHO has full discretion on how these funds should be used to fund the programmatic work of the Organization. These represent 4.1% of all voluntary contributions. WHO thanks all contributors to this account.
The list of thematic funders keeps growing. Thanks to our pioneers key “thematic funders” Germany, the European Commission and Japan, ꩲand others who have joined them since. WHO received US$ 550 million in thematic funds in 2020-2021, up 48% from the previous biennium. These funds give a degree of flexibility that allows WHO to be more effective and efficient in allocating funds, to focus on results for our joint priorities.
Thematic Funding, TheWHO is extremely grateful to all donors, particularly those who provide flexible funding and thematic and strategic engagement funds as it allows WHO to be agile and strategic in efforts to achieve the Triple Billion targets. Therefore, WHO is calling for an increase in flexible funding arrangements.
WHO’s Member States are currently engaging in an active discussion to find ways to improve WHO’s funding and ensure it is flexible, predictable and sustainable. Read more about the 𝄹WHO’s working group on sustainable financing.