WORLD - The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a significant reduction in its 2026 health emergency appeal, lowering the funding target to US $1 billion, about one‑third less than 2025.

This comes as donor support declines and uncertainty grows over contributions from its former largest funder, the United States. 

WHO’s Executive Director for its Health Emergencies Programme, Chikwe Ihekweazu, told reporters in Geneva that the organization will concentrate resources on 36 crises worldwide, including acute needs in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine.

He emphasized that funds will focus on areas where the WHO can “save the most lives,” but also warned of “vast needs” that remain underfunded. 

The appeal comes amid broader financial challenges for the UN health agency, with donor fatigue, geopolitical shifts and the withdrawal of the United States from WHO membership this year straining international funding. 

WHO Director‑General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has highlighted rising humanitarian health pressures globally, pointing to hundreds of millions of people affected by crises that disrupt health services and escalate disease risks. 

The latest appeal is part of WHO’s effort to maintain lifesaving responses and essential health care in fragile settings.