Germany will donate 130 million euros ($141.87 million) to the World Health Organization this year, its health minister announced on Thursday after meeting with the head of the U.N. health agency.
However, the announcement was insufficient to reclaim the top donor spot after Berlin temporarily surpassed Washington in the last funding period 2020-2021 due to Trump-era funding cuts, according to WHO data.
‘We are delighted to contribute 130 million euros to WHO this year,’ Karl Lauterbach told reporters after meeting with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
‘The WHO needs to be financially strengthened so that humanity is better prepared for the next pandemic,’ Lauterbach added on Twitter.
Lauterbach met with Tedros this week on the sidelines of the agency’s executive board meeting, where it is seeking a strengthened role in global health but is still unsure how to fund it. Given its over-reliance on donor whims, the body’s funding system, which currently has a nearly $1 billion gap, is widely regarded as in need of major reform.
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