The World Health Organization (WHO) is a United Nations agency dedicated to global public health, coordinating responses to crises and promoting well-being worldwide. Its funding comes from a mix of member state contributions and voluntary donations from organizations and governments.
With the U.S. set to withdraw from WHO within a year’s time, how will this impact the organization’s budget?
Data and Key Takeaways
The graphic above breaks down voluntary contributions made to the World Health Organization’s budget during the 2022-23 period.
Note that these contributions differ from assessed contributions, which are mandatory payments that WHO members states are required to pay.
For this period, voluntary contributions made up 81% of total funding, while assessed contributions accounted for 12%. The remaining 7% came from other sources.
| U.S. | $1,010 | 15.6 |
| Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation | $826.3 | 12.7 |
| Germany | $722.6 | 11.1 |
| GAVI Alliance | $480.4 | 7.4 |
| European Commission | $466.2 | 7.2 |
| Rotary International | $176.5 | 2.7 |
| Canada | $174.2 | 2.7 |
| UN CERF | $139.9 | 2.2 |
| UK | $133.8 | 2.1 |
| WHO Contingency Fund | $121.5 | 1.9 |
| World Bank | $117.8 | 1.8 |
| France | $115.8 | 1.8 |
| UNICEF | $111 | 1.7 |
| Misc. | $106.8 | 1.6 |
| Norway | $106.5 | 1.6 |
| UN MPTF | $83.9 | 1.3 |
| Iran | $78.2 | 1.2 |
| India | $77.4 | 1.2 |
| Japan | $75.8 | 1.2 |
| Saudi Arabia | $71.8 | 1.1 |
| Netherlands | $69.1 | 1.1 |
| Other | $1,129 | 19.0 |
America is Out
The top story right now is that President Trump is once again pulling the U.S. out of the World Health Organization.
As we can see from WHO’s 2022-23 budget data, the U.S. is by far the largest voluntary contributor, with just over $1 billion donated.
In a recently signed executive order, Trump cited the organization’s “inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states”, as well as its demand for “unfairly onerous payments from the U.S.”
The U.S. first withdrew from WHO in 2020 in response to the organization’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. President Biden retracted this decision when taking office in 2021, bringing the U.S. back into the organization.
How Much Did China Contribute in 2022-23?
While not explicitly mentioned in his executive order, one of Trump’s gripes with WHO is regarding its relationship with China.
China’s voluntary contributions in 2022-23 totaled $41 million, representing 0.6% of total voluntary funding. Note that voluntary contributions are often earmarked for specific purposes, limiting WHO’s flexibility in how they can be used.
Turning to assessed contributions, China was required to pay $115 million in 2022-23, while the U.S. was required to pay $219 million. Trump’s argument against these payments is that China’s population is several times larger than America’s.
