Global Health Financing at the Tipping Point: Crisis or Catalyst for Change?

Global health (GH) is at a crossroads as it faces an unprecedented financial crisis. Existing resource constraints have been exacerbated by budget cuts, reduced multilateral support, and the U.S. withdrawal from GH institutions and financing. The GH financial crisis threatens the ability of GH institutions to deliver on their key mandates and missions. At the same time, this crisis can present the long-needed stimulus for rethinking the fragmented GH financing ecosystem and initiating transformative processes to effectively prioritize GH investments in a changing world. Amid the unprecedented challenges and devastating impacts of the disruption in GH financing, it might serve as a catalyst for systemic reforms to build a more resilient, efficient, and equitable GH financing system.

To navigate funding shortfalls, international health institutions are already implementing or have initiated reform and restructuring processes to contain costs and (re-)define priorities. Various reform proposals are being considered ranging from (re-)focusing on core mandates and functions, streamlining mandates, or increasing efficiencies to more profound changes such as merging institutions or even sunsetting certain areas.

The session will explore how institutions are adapting to shrinking financial spaces and aims to foster dialogue around sustainable strategies to navigate the crisis. How are GH institutions reacting? What role does “innovative financing” play? Is there a “power shift” in GH financing? Does the shift in financing present an opportunity for Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) to build self-sustaining, locally led systems? In this session, we will discuss reform pathways to a new GH financing ecosystem.