The World Health Organization (W.H.O.) on Sunday launched a new financing mechanism seeking $7 billion in donations it claims can be quickly deployed without strings attached.
Fresh staffing hires for the Geneva, Switzerland-based organization are at the top of the to-do list once funds are secured, adding to the 8,000-plus already on the payroll.
The call for funding contributions came as the W.H.O. begins its annual meeting on Monday with government ministers and health bureaucrats hoping to reinforce global preparedness for the next pandemic in the devastating wake of coronavirus, AP reports.
It follows the W.H.O.’s comprehensive failure to secure a global treaty on future pandemic responses after two years of closed-door meetings, as Breitbart News reported.
The supranational U.N. subsidiary has traditionally relied on commitments from its 194 member states to fund operations, but claims these monies are apportioned to specific projects with stringent conditions.
W.H.O. chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said commitment increases would contribute $4 billion to the agency’s budget of $11.1 billion over the four years through 2028.
“The Investment Round aims to mobilize the other $7 billion,” Tedros told attendees at the glittering launch event in Geneva, according to a statement.
The agency will solicit both public and private donors including foundations.
“Instead of waiting for it to come in over the course of four years—not knowing when it will come, or (how) much will come at any one time—the Investment Round aims to secure that funding up front,” the Ethiopian public health official said.
“This will allow us to make longer-term plans and hire the people we need to implement those plans on more secure contracts.”
A meeting will be held in November to secure the funds, with the W.H.O. and countries already sponsoring the new initiative pushing before then to reach the $7 billion goal.