Ireland is among the first UN member states to pay a voluntary increase in membership fees to the World Health Organisation (WHO) as it seeks to plug a $1.7 billion hole in its finances following the Donald Trump-ordered withdrawal of the US from the global body.
The funding crisis, which will lead to hundreds of jobs losses at WHO, is top of the agenda at the annual World Health Assembly which opened on Monday in Geneva.
Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, told The Irish Times that Ireland has increased its assessed contributions, or membership fee, to WHO by about 50 per cent. The amount Ireland pays has gone up from €2.2 million to €3.4 million. In total, Ireland contributed over €16.5 million to the WHO last year.
The Minister was briefed on the impact of the financial shortfalls at the organisation when she met on Sunday with WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and his deputy director-general Dr Mike Ryan, who steps down from his role on June 16th.
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WHO wants member states to increase their assessed contributions to cover 50 per cent of the core budget. Ireland was among the first UN member states to respond in advance of a high-level pledging event on Tuesday.
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Ireland’s increased commitment to WHO comes amid concern that millions of people will die because of the withdrawal of US financial support to programmes for people living with HIV/AIDS and TB. There is similar levels of concern for populations exposed to malaria.
UNAIDS, the joint UN programme for HIV and AIDS, estimates that if US support for HIV and AIDS is not replaced by other funding sources, there will be an additional 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths in the next four years and 8.7 million new infections.
A recent survey of 108 WHO country offices highlighted that the cuts in development aid from the US and other donor countries were having as big an impact on health service delivery as the Covid-19 pandemic.
