WHO joined parliamentary leaders at the 151st Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly, held on 19–23 October 2025 in Geneva, bringing together nearly 1150 delegates, including over 600 members of parliament from 132 countries.

Concurring with the advice and considerations expressed by the Committee during the meeting, the WHO Director-General, on 5 September 2025, determined that the upsurge of mpox 2024 no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

The World Health Organization (WHO) today released new guidance for countries on ways to counter the immediate and long-term effects of sudden and severe cuts to external funding, which are disrupting the delivery of essential health services in many countries. The new guidance, called “Responding to the health financing emergency: immediate measures and longer-term shifts”, provides a suite of policy options for countries to cope with the sudden financing shocks, and bolster efforts to mobilize and implement sufficient and sustainable financing for national health systems.External health aid is projected to drop by 30% to 40% in 2025 compared with 2023, causing immediate and severe disruption to health services in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). WHO survey data from 108 LMICs collected in March 2025 indicate that funding cuts have reduced critical services – including maternal care, vaccination, health emergency preparedness and response, and disease surveillance – by up to 70% in some countries. More than 50 countries have reported job losses among health and care workers, along with major disruptions to health worker training programmes. “Sudden and unplanned cuts to aid have hit many countries hard, costing lives and jeopardizing hard-won health gains,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “But in the crisis lies an opportunity for countries to transition away from aid dependency towards sustainable self-reliance, based on domestic resources. WHO’s new guidance will help countries to better mobilize, allocate, prioritize and use funds to support the delivery of health services that protect the most vulnerable.”This year’s funding cuts have compounded years of persistent health financing challenges for countries, including rising debt burdens, inflation, economic uncertainty, high out-of-pocket spending, systemic budget underfunding and heavy reliance on external aid.Swift action guided by efficiency and equity   WHO’s new guidance urges policy-makers to make health a political and fiscal priority in government budgets even during times of crisis, seeing health spending as not merely a cost to be contained, but an investment in social stability, human dignity, and economic resilience. The guidance emphasizes the need for countries to cushion the immediate impact of reductions in foreign assistance for health, and to adapt to a new era of reduced assistance. Key policy recommendations include:prioritize the health services accessed by the poorest; protect health budgets and essential health services; improve efficiency through better procurement, reduced overheads and strategic purchasing; integrate externally-funded or disease-specific services into comprehensive PHC-based delivery models; and use health technology assessments to prioritize services and products that have the greatest health impact per dollar spent.Country leadership and global solidarity are criticalSeveral countries have already taken decisive action to strengthen their health systems and protect essential health services: Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa have allocated additional budget funds to health, or are awaiting parliamentary approval for increases;Nigeria increased its health budget by US$ 200 million to offset aid shortfalls, with increased allocations for immunization, epidemic response, and priority programmes; Ghana lifted the cap on excise tax earmarked for its national health insurance agency, resulting in a 60% budget increase. The country also launched “the Accra Reset”, a bold framework to reimagine global governance, financing and partnerships in health and development; andUganda has outlined a clear policy agenda for integration of health services and programmes, aiming to improve efficiency and sustain service delivery.The new guidance builds on WHO’s commitment to help all countries strengthen and sustain robust health systems, built on a commitment to universal health coverage, underpinned by strong primary health services delivering essential care to all who need it.It also aligns with existing World Health Assembly mandates, including resolutions on “Strengthening health financing globally” and “Economics of health for all,” to translate global commitments into actionable policy steps. WHO and its partners are committed to providing technical support, analytics and peer learning to countries to manage the health financing crises and navigate the transition, including through the new UHC Knowledge Hub, a partnership with the Government of Japan and the World Bank, set to be launched in December 2025. 

With the new guide for decision-makers launched today, WHO provides concrete ideas to usher in a new era of urban health action. The Guide responds to the growing demand for integrated solutions that address health challenges and promote health more broadly in urban settings.

The World Health Organization (WHO) condemns the reported killing of more than 460 patients and their companions, as well as the abduction of six health workers, on 28 October from the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher.   This latest tragedy is taking place in the rapidly worsening crisis in North Darfur’s El Fasher, where escalating violence, siege conditions and rising hunger and disease are killing civilians, including children, and collapsing an already-fragile health system. On 26 October, Saudi Maternity Hospital, the only partially functioning hospital in El Fasher, was attacked for the fourth time in a month, killing one nurse and injuring three other health workers. On 28 October, six health workers, four doctors, a nurse and a pharmacist, were abducted. On the same day, more than 460 patients and their companions were reportedly shot and killed in the hospital.    Since the conflict began, 46 health workers have been killed in El Fasher – among them the Director of Primary Health Care in the State Ministry of Health – and another 48 injured. The status of personnel working in three nongovernmental organizations in El Fasher remains unknown. WHO condemns these horrific attacks on health care in the strongest terms and calls for the respect of the sanctity of health care as mandated under International Humanitarian Law. More than 260 000 people remain trapped in El Fasher with almost no access to food, clean water, or medical care. Escalating violence has forced about 28 000 people to flee El Fasher Town in recent days, 26 000 of them to rural areas of El Fasher and up to 2000 to Tawila. Over 100 000 more people are expected to move to Tawila in the coming days and weeks, adding to the 575 000 already displaced from El Fasher who are sheltering there and other areas. Many of the displaced are women and unaccompanied children facing acute shortages of shelter, protection, food, water, and health care.  In addition to violence, and the lack of basic essentials for life and health, cholera continues to spread rapidly in El Fasher as people lack access to safe water. Disease surveillance and response activities are reduced as a result of the deteriorating security situation. This year alone, El Fasher has reported 272 suspected cases of cholera and 32 deaths, an alarming case fatality rate of nearly 12%. Across Darfur, 18 468 cases and 662 deaths have been recorded in 40 localities.     El Fasher has been cut off from humanitarian aid since February 2025, and malnutrition is rising sharply, especially among children and pregnant women, weakening immunity and heightening vulnerability to cholera, malaria, and other infectious diseases. Many families have exhausted food stocks or lost access to markets.  Despite access restrictions to El Fasher, WHO teams are working around the clock to keep health services running where possible, particularly in areas where people displaced by insecurity arrive. Twenty metric tons of WHO medicines and emergency kits, including supplies for cholera and management of severe acute malnutrition with medical complications, are being moved from Nyala to Tawila to support medical and rapid-response teams providing care for displaced people. Health supplies handed over to partners at Abeche, Chad, are being fast-tracked for delivery to Tawila and other gathering locations.   WHO is coordinating with health partners at reception sites in Korma, located between El Fasher and Tawila, to stabilize critically ill and injured people and facilitate referrals to Tawila. WHO is also preparing to deploy rapid response teams within Tawila and surrounding localities to respond to the urgent health needs of those arriving from El Fasher. WHO trucks are on standby in Darfur to join a UN aid convoy carrying food, medicines, and lifesaving health supplies into El Fasher as soon as access opens.  WHO calls for an immediate end to hostilities in El Fasher and all of Sudan; for the protection of civilians, humanitarian workers, and health care; and safe, rapid, and unimpeded humanitarian access to deliver lifesaving aid.