The 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) has officially come to a close. The convening came at a pivotal time in global health; thousands of USAID contracts are being cancelled and Member States are making significant cuts to their foreign aid investments. Throughout, WHA78, GHC tracked proceedings on the following agenda items: 

• Agenda Item 6.2 on International Negotiating Body Agenda Item 11.1: Governance Reform
• Agenda Item 11.2: Proposed Programme Budget 2026-2027
• Agenda Items 13.1: Follow-Up to the Political Declaration of the Third High-Level Meeting on the Prevention and Control of Non-communicable Diseases
• Agenda Item 13.3 Universal Health Coverage (UHC) with a Focus on Health Equity
• Agenda Item 16.2 on Intergovernmental Negotiating Body to Draft and Negotiate WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response
• Agenda Item 18.3 on Climate and Health
• Agenda Item 21.3 on Sustainable Financing: WHO Investment Round

As an Non-State Actor (NSA) in Official Relations with WHO, GHC lead two constituency statements on the Draft Intergovernmental Negotiating Body’s Treaty on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response and Climate and Health and co-lead two statements on Universal Health Coverage and Non-Communicable diseases. The statements can also be found on the WHO extranet website. 

The GHC delegation was made up of three GHC secretariat staff and three members who were chosen via lottery – University of Southern California Institute on Inequalities in Global Health, United for Global Mental Health, and NCDI Poverty Network.

Key actions related to GHC’s priority areas include:

1. Member States approved the WHO Pandemic Agreement, aimed at preventing  pandemics and improving future pandemic response. The agreement aims to foster stronger collaboration and cooperation among multiple stakeholders including countries, international organizations like WHO, civil society, and the private sector. Though implementation details must still be ironed out, the agreement is an historic step toward collective action and legal mechanisms to avoid a repeat of COVID-19-era disarray.
2. Global leaders reaffirmed their commitment to WHO by pledging an additional $210 million at a high-level pledging event held on Tuesday, May 20th. As of April 2025, a total of 1.7 billion USD have been made in pledges from 62 Member States and 20 Philanthropic organizations. 
3. Member States approved a 20% increase in assessed contributions (AC), which will bring in a separate $90 million a year in income for WHO. Although the WHO continues to face a difficult financial crisis, both the pledging round and the increase in AC paves the way for a more financial sustainability. 
4. Member States approved a $4.2 billion programme budget for 2026-2027, $5.3 billion less than what was initially proposed. 
5. Member States approved a new resolution on strengthening heath financing and recommitting to UHC through strong primary health care (PHC)  systems. There has not been a health care financing resolution in 10 years, so this serves as a significant moment. It comes at a tome when the global health community is facing significant financial cuts (potential 40% reduction) and increasing out of pocket spending on health.
6. Under the UHC agenda item, Member States also committed to protecting and investing in global health and care workers by passing a resolution calling for increased investments in health professionals as well as improving work conditions, harnessing digital technologies, creating more jobs, focusing on retention, and investing in education. 
7. Member States supported the inaugural draft Global Action Plan on Climate Change and Health which acknowledges the impacts of climate on health. The plan also aims to create a strategic framework to guide Member States on the creation of more climate resistant and climate friendly health systems. 
8. In the lead up to the 2025 High-Level Meeting (HLM) on Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs) and Mental Health, Member State recommitted to the 2018 United Nations Political Declaration NCDs and the need to focus on risk factor reduction, integration into UHC platforms, and improved access to essential diagnostics and treatment.

In addition to our participation in official proceedings, GHC co-hosted, moderated and or spoke at over eight side unofficial side-events on topics including social participation for UHC, UHC in a transforming landscape, strengthening PHC, health equity and the right to health, advancing UHC through self-care, U.S. and global health, among others. GHC also co-hosted a WHA78 Happy Hour to thank all GHC members and partners who supported and participated in the gathering. In times of crisis, it is always critical that we come together and solidify as advocates and key players in the global health community. 

The convening provided an opportunity for to gather intelligence on how WHO, Member States, and other multilateral agencies are responding to ongoing global health disruptions. Although the overall tone of this year’s Assembly was mixed, it is clear that support for multilateralism continues to be strong and that the majority of member states remain committed to advancing global health for all.

Despite these challenging times, the Assembly was able to make significant commitments and passed inaugural resolutions. GHC will continue to advocate for the implementation of those commitments and sustainable financing for global health as we continue to navigate and move forward in these changing times. 

Some of the GHC WHA77 Delegation (from left to rightMuhammad Ali Hasnain, (GHC Delegate) United for GHC; Christina Cepuch, (GHC Delegate) NCDI Poverty Network, Ansley Moore, (GHC Delegate) GHC, Eliana Monteforte, (GHC Delegate) GHC; Kate Doherty (GHC Member) Global Arch, Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, (GHC Delegate) GHC)