The World Health Organization (WHO) has shared its results report of 2023 which shows the most comprehensive to date data, highlighting the achievement of key public health milestones, despite increased global humanitarian health needs caused by conflict, climate change, and epidemics.
According to the research done which has been issued before the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly in 2024, which will take place from May 27 to June 1. The WHO’s amended Programme Budget for 2022-2023 was $6726.1 million, which included lessons gained from the pandemic response and addressed rising health priorities. With 96 percent of WHO country offices delivering 174 country reports on successes, the report demonstrates progress toward 46 targets while also highlighting obstacles.
“This report features information about the impact of our work in 174 countries. It doesn’t just say what we did but also how we did it and how we are accountable for the results we delivered and the quality of integrity of our work. The new interactive dashboard provides information from where out findings come from, where it is going and what it is doing.” Said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director General.
The study describes the Triple Billion Targets, an ambitious endeavour to improve billions of people’s health by 2023 that serves as both a measuring and a police plan. “The world is off track to reach most of the triple billion targets and the health-related Sustainable Development Goals,” remarked Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
The triple billions will be spent on implementing and delivering significant gains in global health through evidence-based initiatives, stronger health information systems, and support for transformational public health policies. In terms of healthier populations, current trends show that the goal of 1 billion more people enjoying greater health and well-being by 2025 will most likely be fulfilled, owing mostly to improvements in air quality and access to water, sanitation, and hygiene measures.
Study done in the report demonstrates progress in a number of crucial areas, including healthier populations, universal health care (UHC), and health emergency protection. “Our goal is to invest even more resources where they matter most—at the country level—while ensuring sustainable and flexible financing to support our mission.”
Related to healthier populations, the current trajectory indicates the target of 1 billion more people enjoying better protection from health emergencies, 1 billion more people benefiting from universal health coverage and 1 billion more people enjoying better health and well-being will likely be met by 2025, driven primarily by improvements in air quality and access to water, sanitation and hygiene measures.
In terms of UHC, 30 percent of country members are moving forward in covering the essential health services and giving financial protection. This is largely due to increased HIV service coverage.
Regarding emergencies protection, though the coverage of vaccinations for high-priority pathogens shows improvement relative to the eradication of COVID-19 pandemic-related disruptions in 2020–2021, it has not yet returned to the pre-pandemic levels.
The Pandemic Fund’s first fundings summed US$ 338 million in 2023, supporting 37 countries with financing to strengthen prevention, preparedness and response abilities. WHO continues to work with countries and partners to ensure genomic sequencing capabilities and build up laboratory and surveillance systems worldwide with capacity increased by 62percent for SARS-CoV-2 between February 2021 and December 2023.
Prominent Achievements
The first malaria vaccine in the world, RTS, S/AS01, was distributed to more than two million children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi during the two years, reducing mortality by 13 percent among children qualified for vaccination. WHO’s prequalification of a second vaccine, R21/Matrix-M, is expected to further boost malaria control efforts.
The report says in part that 14 countries eliminated at least one neglected tropical disease from 2022–2023. Bangladesh eliminated 2.
The first-ever all-oral treatment regimens for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis were made available in 2022, allowing the highest number of people with tuberculosis to get treatment since observation began almost 30 years ago.
An acknowledgement to the WHO’s REPLACE initiative, which aims to eliminate industrially-produced trans-fatty acids from the food supply, an additional 13 countries implemented best-practice policies, bringing the total to 53 countries.
More than 75percent of people living with HIV are receiving antiretroviral therapy, with most reaching viral suppression – meaning they cannot infect other people. WHO’s guidance and support have helped countries like Botswana achieve commendable progress in controlling HIV transmission.
There is a decline in the use of tobacco in 150 countries, 56 of which are on track to achieve the global target for reducing use of tobacco by 2025.
There is an additional of 29 countries that developed multispectral national action plans on antimicrobial resistance during the biennium 2022–2023, bringing the total to 178 countries.
Another 25 countries have introduced the human papillomavirus vaccine, bringing the total to 58 that have introduced the vaccine since WHO launched the initiative in 2020 following the Director-General’s call to eliminate cervical cancer.
The way forward
The report admits the significant inequalities in the health outcomes, disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and that persistent health workforce shortages require funding education and employment.
WHO’s Programme Budget for 2024–2025 aims to balance investment in the Organization’s controlling functions with the need to strengthen country offices. It aims to fund 80 percent of the planned budget of important items, thereby speeding progress towards meeting the triple billion targets of the GPW 13 (current WHO strategy for the period 2019-2023).
WHO member states have shown dedication to sustainable financing for WHO, accepting a path to increase estimated benefits to 50% of the base budget of the originally agreed Programme Budget 2022-2023 by the two years of 2030–2031. Another component of sustainable financing is the Investment Round, which WHO will launch at WHA77, to secure findings for WHO’s core work for the next 4 years (2025-2028).
WHO intends to work with existing and new donors and other partners, through a comprehensive engagement activity that will come to an end in a high-level financing event in the fourth quarter of 2024.
