In May, the 75th World Health Assembly agreed with an expert group recommendation for the World Health Organization to explore the feasibility of a replenishment model to increase its sustainable financing.
The idea of a replenishment mechanism for WHO isn’t new, and the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response — which was set up by the United Nations agency in 2020 in response to a request made by the World Health Assembly — also recommended such a process to cover a third of WHO’s core budget.
In addition to assisting in WHO’s quest for more sustainable financing, a replenishment model would provide resource predictability for the agency, with countries and organizations committing multiyear financing. This would complement an increase in assessed contributions — the annual fees paid by member states — that was decided during the 75th WHA.