US$500mil for WHO over the next five years
THE government will give an additional US$500mil (RM2.1bil) to the World Health Organisation over five years, an official told the World Health Assembly, as the UN agency seeks extra funding to offset the expected loss of its top donor, the United States.
China's Vice-Premier of the State Council Liu Guozhong made the announcement in a speech in Geneva, Switzerland.
'The world is now facing the impacts of unilateralism and power politics bringing major challenges to global health security... multilateralism is a sure pass to addressing difficulties,' Liu told delegates.
The WHO has already revised down its 2026-2027 budget by 21% to US$4.2bil due to its financial difficulties, caused mainly by the Trump administration's decision.
The new budget, set to be decided by the assembly, will increase countries' mandatory fees by 20% over the next two years and make China the new top state donor.
It was not immediately clear if the US$500mil donation from China has already included that fee increase. — Reuters
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