A doctor./PHOTO; Courtesy
Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are among the countries prioritised under the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2026 Health Emergency Appeal, as the agency seeks nearly US$1 billion to respond to escalating humanitarian health crises worldwide.
Launched on 3 February 2026, the appeal aims to ensure that millions of people affected by conflict, displacement, disease outbreaks, and climate-related emergencies can access essential health care.
In total, WHO plans to respond to 36 health emergencies, including 14 Grade 3 crises, which require the highest level of organisational response.
In 2025, WHO and its partners supported 30 million people through funding from the organisation’s annual emergency appeal.
According to WHO, these resources enabled the delivery of life-saving vaccinations to 5.3 million children, facilitated 53 million health consultations, supported more than 8,000 health facilities, and allowed the deployment of 1,370 mobile clinics in fragile and hard-to-reach settings.
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the 2026 appeal comes at a critical moment for global health and humanitarian response.
“This appeal is a call to stand with people living through conflict, displacement, and disaster to give them not just services, but the confidence that the world has not turned its back on them,” Dr Tedros said.
“It is not charity. It is a strategic investment in health and security. Access to health care restores dignity, stabilizes communities, and offers a pathway toward recovery.”
The appeal is being launched against a backdrop of converging global pressures, including protracted conflicts, the growing impacts of climate change, and recurrent infectious disease outbreaks.
These challenges are driving increased demand for emergency health support at a time when global humanitarian financing is shrinking.
WHO noted that in 2025, humanitarian funding fell below 2016 levels, limiting the organisation’s ability to respond at scale.
As a result, WHO and its partners reached only one-third of the 81 million people initially targeted to receive humanitarian health assistance during the year.
Renewed international solidarity and predictable funding are urgently needed, the organisation said, to prevent further deterioration of health conditions in the world’s most fragile settings.
Under the 2026 appeal, WHO has identified priority response areas including Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Afghanistan, Haiti, Myanmar, the occupied Palestinian territory, the Syrian Arab Republic, Ukraine, and Yemen.
The appeal will also support responses to ongoing outbreaks of cholera and mpox.
In many of these countries, years of conflict and instability have severely weakened health systems, leaving communities vulnerable to disease outbreaks, malnutrition, and preventable deaths.
WHO and its partners are working to keep essential health facilities operational, deliver emergency medical supplies and trauma care, restore routine immunisation, and ensure access to sexual and reproductive, maternal and child health services.
As the lead agency coordinating health responses in humanitarian settings, WHO works with more than 1,500 partners across 24 crisis settings globally.
The organisation said its approach places national authorities and local partners at the centre of emergency response, strengthening coordination while supporting frontline health workers operating under extreme conditions.
Speaking at the launch event, Ambassador Noel White, Ireland’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office in Geneva, underscored the central role of health in humanitarian crises.
“Every humanitarian crisis is a health crisis,” he said, noting Ireland’s support for the WHO’s emergency response through unearmarked, flexible, and predictable funding to the Contingency Fund for Emergencies.
Also speaking at the event, Ms Marita Sørheim-Rensvik, Deputy Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations Office at Geneva, described the WHO as indispensable in today’s complex emergencies.
“From safeguarding access to sexual and reproductive health and rights to supporting frontline health workers under immense strain, WHO’s role is vital,” she said, calling on Member States to strengthen support so the organisation can continue delivering life-saving care in areas where few others can operate.
WHO said early and predictable investment allows for rapid response when crises strike, helping to reduce deaths, contain outbreaks, and prevent health risks from escalating into wider humanitarian and global health security crises with far greater human and financial costs.
Despite funding constraints that have forced difficult prioritisation decisions, WHO said the activities that remain are the most impactful.
With adequate resources, the organisation aims to sustain life-saving care in the world’s most severe emergencies while helping to lay the groundwork for longer-term recovery and stability.
