Global health leaders at WHA78 call for urgent country-led action to address health financing gaps and strengthen domestic data systems amid declining external support.
At the Seventy-eighth World Health Assembly on 21 May 2025, ministers from several countries convened at a high-level dialogue to address what was described as a “health financing emergency.” Co-hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, the session emphasised the need for country-owned, data-driven solutions to strengthen domestic health systems in response to abrupt external funding cuts.
Professor Senait Fisseha of the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation and WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus urged governments to rethink health financing and data systems. Countries were encouraged to reduce reliance on foreign funding and external data systems and instead invest in resilient, locally managed infrastructures to improve health outcomes and withstand future shocks. “Data and sustainable financing are political choices,” said Dr Tedros, emphasising their role in shaping equitable health access.
Ministers from countries including Liberia, Egypt, and Rwanda shared strategies such as expanding tax revenue, introducing universal health coverage schemes, and integrating donor-funded programmes into national budgets. The dialogue sets the stage for further discussions on the proposed Health Financing Resolution to be reviewed later in the week.
