SINGAPORE CONTRIBUTES S$24 MILLION TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION’S INAUGURAL INVESTMENT ROUND

          At the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Strategic Roundtable on “All for Health, Health for All: the WHO Investment Case” held in Geneva, Switzerland on 28 May 2024, Minister for Health Mr Ong Ye Kung announced Singapore’s contribution of S$24 million to the WHO’s newly launched 2025/28 Investment Round.

2.        The contribution will support the WHO’s 14th General Programme of Work over the next four years from 2025 to 2028. This is the first time that WHO has made a targeted, forward-looking call with the aim of securing predictable and sustainable funding for its work. 

3.         Singapore is the first in Asia and one of the first WHO member states to announce its pledge. This is testament to Singapore’s continued commitment to international cooperation in health, and multilateral coordination in tackling global health challenges.

4.         Singapore will prioritise its contribution specifically on improving protection from health emergencies. This means that our contribution will go towards building domestic capacities, especially amongst developing countries, to prepare for, prevent, detect, and respond to health emergencies. 

5.         On the impetus to support sustainable financing of the WHO, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, who was also the former Co-Chair of the G20 High Level Independent Panel on Financing the Global Commons for Pandemic Preparedness and Response, said, “Barely out of COVID-19, we are flying blind into the next pandemic. It could occur in ten years, or in a year. The timing is uncertain, but we can no longer talk of a once-in-a-century event. A well-resourced and well-functioning WHO is critical to global health security. Yet it lacks adequate and predictable funding. Strengthening multilateral cooperation in health, with the WHO at the centre, not only unites us as humans but also serves each of our nation’s interests. Quite apart from the moral and epidemiological imperatives, it is the financially prudent and responsible thing to do for each of our nations, rich or poor.” 

MINISTRY OF HEALTH
29 MAY 2024