{"id":32918,"date":"2026-04-24T14:11:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:11:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/?post_type=news&#038;p=32918"},"modified":"2026-04-24T14:41:57","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T12:41:57","slug":"who-reports-major-health-gains-in-2025-despite-funding-cuts-warns-progress-remains-fragile","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/who-reports-major-health-gains-in-2025-despite-funding-cuts-warns-progress-remains-fragile\/","title":{"rendered":"WHO reports major health gains in 2025 despite funding cuts, warns progress remains fragile"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">According to the Results Report 2025, released on Thursday ahead of the 79th World Health Assembly next month, support from WHO and partners contributed to measurable improvements in essential health services, protection from health emergencies and overall <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">wellbeing<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> WHO Director\u2011General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the report shows tangible benefits for millions, while cautioning that gains \u201ccannot be taken for granted\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Despite progress, the report states that roughly half of <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">WHO<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> output targets were not met, with financial pressures and internal restructuring affecting delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The report confirms that WHO did not fully achieve the \u201cTriple Billion\u201d goals, which aimed to deliver one billion additional beneficiaries across each of the three outcome areas by the end of 2025, compared with 2018. Even so, WHO recorded significant year\u2011on\u2011year gains:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">567 million additional people covered by essential health services in 2025, an increase of 136 million from 2024<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">698 million additional people <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">better<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> protected from health emergencies, up 61 million from 2024<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">1.75 billion additional people living healthier lives, an increase of 300 million since 2024<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Progress towards universal health coverage was linked to expanded services for communicable diseases, including HIV and tuberculosis, improved sanitation and growth in the health workforce. The report flags ongoing gaps in diabetes management, measles surveillance and financial protection.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">The report cites strengthened emergency preparedness <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">linked to<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> the Pandemic Agreement and revised International Health Regulations.<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> WHO supported responses to 66 emergencies across 88 countries in 2025, including 33 million medical consultations delivered through health partners in Gaza.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Mental health and psychosocial support coverage rose from 28% to 48%. HPV vaccine coverage increased from 17% in 2019 to 31% in 2024, supported by simplified single\u2011dose schedules. A global air pollution roadmap <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">targets<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\"> a 50% reduction in related deaths by 2040.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">WHO warned that reduced staffing capacity, limited technical support and slower programme implementation pose risks, while earmarked funding continues to limit flexibility. <\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Findings will be presented in Geneva at the World Health Assembly running May 18<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">\u2013<\/span><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">23, 2026.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">&#8211;UN\/ChannelAfrica&#8211;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":32919,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[78,44,26],"class_list":["post-32918","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-featured","news-type-finance","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported substantial health gains delivered in 2025 despite significant funding cuts, while warning that progress remains uneven and the world is still off track to meet health-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.","published_date":"","news_description":"The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported substantial health gains delivered in 2025 despite significant funding cuts, while warning that progress remains uneven and the world is still off track to meet health-related Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32918","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32920,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/32918\/revisions\/32920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=32918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}