Ahead of the start of the World Health Assembly this Monday in Geneva, Ellen Schmitt, Health Officer at Misereor, comments on medical care for disadvantaged population groups in the Global South:

"Around 4.6 billion people worldwide do not have adequate access to necessary health services. There is a lack of staff, medicines, appropriate equipment, water and energy supplies or simply money to provide them with adequate medical care. In light of this situation, it is an alarm signal that major international global health organisations, including the World Health Organisation (WHO), are dramatically underfunded. The WHO's budget recently had to be cut by 14 per cent to around 4.2 billion US dollars. In particular, the withdrawal of the USA from the WHO has left a gap of billions. The WHO's ability to act is therefore severely impaired. This costs human lives.

The outbreak of the Hanta virus on a cruise ship in the Atlantic is yet another example of the immensely important role that the WHO plays as a central steering instrument of the global health architecture, for example when it comes to assessing and managing outbreaks of serious diseases. In view of the importance of the WHO, the increase in private funding compared to public funding is problematic. It is not a good sign that the Gates Foundation, a private organisation, is one of the WHO's main donors.

Misereor is therefore calling for the WHO to be strengthened politically and financially. The German government should exert its influence in Geneva in this regard. It should also campaign for binding rules to limit the power of private investors in the health sector. Instead of market-based financing models, the WHO needs more reliable public investment. If private companies, their interest groups or philanthropic foundations have too much influence in global health decisions and make them more profit-oriented, this will be to the detriment of particularly impoverished or marginalised population groups."