WHO Director General's remarks at the WHO Investment Round press conference 19 November 2024

Your Excellency President Lula da Silva,

Minister Mauro,

Ambassador Celso,

My sister, Minister Nisia,

Excellencies, esteemed members of the press, dear colleagues and friends,

Boa tarde.

I thank President Lula for his leadership, and for hosting this culminating moment of the 2024 WHO Investment Round during the G20 Leaders' Summit. Thank you, Mr President.

The Investment Round is about mobilizing the resources to implement WHO's global strategy to help keep the world safe and save 40 million lives over the next four years.

Today is a natural step in a process that has been ongoing since the COVID-19 pandemic, when G20 leaders first came together to discuss how to foster a safer and more equitable world.

The WHO Investment Round provides a vital contribution to this effort by providing the resources for our four-year global strategy, to strengthen health across our 194 Member States.

I have asked every Member State and partner to step up for the Investment Round and to provide predictable and flexible funding so that we can plan together for the next four years.

We are grateful to have received support from Brazil during its G20 presidency, as well as from our co-hosts France, Germany, Indonesia, Mauritania on behalf of the African Union, Norway, and South Africa.

I also thank the G20 attendees Australia, China, Germany, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Norway, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Tanzania, Türkiye and the European Union for the new funding they have pledged.

Through a series of regional events, and now at the G20 Leaders' summit, we have received 70 pledges worth US$1.7 billion.

Of these pledges, more than half are from first time voluntary contributors to WHO, including 21 from middle-income countries around the world.

As a result of the Investment Round, along with other funding agreements, we can now count on at least US$3.8 billion, or 53% of the voluntary contributions needed for our strategy.

This is truly significant, because for the last few decades, only a small portion of our total budget was predictable.

The funding from the Investment round not only gives us that predictability, more of it is also flexible funding, which gives us the ability to respond rapidly to continually evolving health threats around the world.

We have more work to do as we work to build a broader and more resilient donor base, and I am grateful to His Excellency President Lula and President Ramaphosa for his assurance that we will have their support as the incoming chair of the G20.

Thank you once again to President Lula, and to all who have pledged their support to WHO.

Obrigado. Together we can realise our vision: all for health, and health for all.

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