BERLIN – Ahead of the World Health Summit in Berlin (13-15 October), new analysis by The ONE Campaign reveals a worrying trend in global health financing: When COVID-19 funding is excluded, official development assistance (ODA) for health reached a 13-year low in 2021 with only a slight rebound in 2022. This data suggests major donors are deprioritizing health investments in the wake of COVID-19 and as other health threats like Mpox continue to spread.

“Surge funding from donors was essential to help countries respond to COVID-19. But it was temporary,” says Jenny Ottenhoff, Senior Policy Director, Global Health, at ONE. “As COVID-19 funding dries up it’s unacceptable that we’re left with historically low investments in essential health assistance. This retreat from health financing is short-sighted and irresponsible, especially in the wake of the worst global health crisis in a generation. If this trend continues, hard-won gains against preventable infectious diseases in the world’s most vulnerable countries are at risk. As a result, everyone would be more vulnerable to future health crises. What was true during the pandemic is still true today: No one is safe until everyone is safe.”

When COVID-19 funding is excluded, declines in health ODA are consistent across all major donors. Looking ahead, health ODA is at risk of backsliding further. The EU, France, Germany, and US made cuts to overall ODA totaling nearly US$9 billion in 2024, with further cuts planned in France and Germany for 2025. ONE is calling on governments to urgently course correct and reprioritize global health spending. Fully funding Gavi and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in their upcoming replenishments is a key first step.

Background

Please find the full analysis here:

Note, this analysis is based on the latest available OECD data from 2022. More recent evidence (e.g. national budgets) suggests this decline in health aid could get worse.

Country-specific trends:

• When COVID-19 funding is excluded, ODA for health declined between 2021 and 2022 in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy.

• Global health progress at risk: Gavi and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria are hosting replenishments in 2025. Both institutions have successful track records on improving health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries and are models for development cooperation (see below). Continuing this progress will require strong commitments from major donors.

Gavi

• 1.1 billion children immunized in 78 countries (2000-2023)

• 18.8 million lives saved (2000-2023)

• 55 vaccine programmes originally introduced with Gavi funding are now self-financed by countries as of 2023, up from 40 in 2018.

• 14 million girls were vaccinated against HPV with Gavi support in 2023; this number is greater than the previous ten years combined

• Gavi incentivized the development of new vaccines against infectious diseases like Ebola & Malaria

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB & Malaria:

• 65 million lives saved since 2002

• 25 million people on antiretroviral therapy for HIV in 2023

• 7.1 million people treated for tuberculosis in 2023

• 227 million mosquito nets distributed to fight malaria in 2023

• In countries where the Global Fund invests, AIDS-related deaths have declined by 73% since 2002 and new infections by 61%.

• In countries where the Global Fund invests, the number of children orphaned by AIDS decreased by 26% between 2010 and 2023.