Leaders opened a health summit in Berlin with the ambition of making up some of the World Health Organization's US$7 billion funding gap.
It announced raising nearly US$700 million in new funding commitments from European countries, foundations and others on Monday, and another US$300 million in reaffirmed commitments.
“WHO’s work benefits us all. What it needs for this work is sustainable financing that gives it the certainty to plan ahead and the flexibility to react," German Chancelor Olaf Scholz said in explaining his nation's nearly US$400 million pledge over the next four years.
The three-day summit started on Sunday, expecting to draw 350 speakers and 3,500 participants including health ministers, government officials, scientists, citizens, and staff from international organizations.
WHO is raising money for its "investment round" because it says it needs US$11.1 billion to carry out its core work over the next four years, but has only US$4 billion in projected income to do that.
Speakers at the pledging event on Monday to secure funding from 2025 to 2028 also included Wellcome Chair CEO John-Arne Røttingen and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates. The fundraising will continue in November when Brazil hosts a G-20 summit.
"As the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated, when health is at risk, everything is at risk," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the opening of the 16th annual Global Health Summit.
"Investments in WHO are, therefore, investments not only in healthier populations, but also in more equitable, more stable and more secure societies and economies," he said.
Fighting 'stigma and discrimination'
Tedros cautioned against the rise of misinformation about health issues on social media, such as pandemic-era falsehoods on masks, vaccines and 'lockdowns' that spread as fast as the virus and were almost as deadly.
Now, he said, the same thing "continues to undermine negotiations" on WHO's global pandemic treaty that aims to improve readiness and equitable access to vaccines, treatments, and other care.
"Internet and social media platforms have given people unprecedented access to health information. But they have also turbo charged the spread of mis- and disinformation, which has contributed to mistrust in vaccines and other health interventions, fueled stigma and discrimination, and even led to violence against health workers and marginalized groups," he said.
"Media, celebrities, social media influencers and politicians have spread false claims that the agreement will cede national sovereignty to WHO and give it the power to impose 'lockdowns' or vaccine mandates on countries," Tedros said. "As you know, these claims are, of course, entirely false. Sovereign governments are negotiating the agreement; and sovereign governments will implement it, in accordance with their own national laws."
Speaking with one voice and building trust
This year's summit, said Charitè – Universitätsmedizin Berlin CEO Heyo Kroemer, offers a chance to focus on health issues affecting women and children, antiobiotic resistance, and digital and AI initiatives.
"By uniting our efforts, sharing knowledge, and leveraging our collective experience," he said, "we can address the most pressing health challenges in these times of multiple crises."
Germany's Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach emphasized the importance of speaking with one voice. "For us, the brokers of scientific knowledge, we have to speak the same language."
WHO's Chief Scientist Jeremy Farrar called for more efforts to build public trust before it's needed.
"You don't build trust on a Tuesday when you want it," he said. "You build trust by providing good things for people, every Monday, every Tuesday, every Wednesday, and not just in a crisis."
