After POTUS Donald Trump announced that USA is halting its funding to the WHO, there has been a lot of debate around WHO’s finances. So, who funds the WHO? What is the size of its budget? Here is a detailed explainer. The World HealthOrganization (WHO) has been in the spotlight for the last few months followingthe outbreak of COVID-19. It is also being accused of acting in China’sinterests above all. Recently, USPresident Donald Trump, during one of his interactions with media, said that hehas instructed his administration to halt the funding to WHO. He alleged that WHO was ‘mismanaging andcovering up the spread of coronavirus’. The decision has been criticized bymany as it has been taken at a time when the entire world is fighting a crisis. President @realDonaldTrump is halting funding of the World Health Organization while a review is conducted to assess WHO's role in mismanaging the Coronavirus outbreak. pic.twitter.com/jTrEf4WWj0 How much does the US contribute to WHO? Where does WHO get its funds from? What are the implications if the USA suspends its funding? Here are the details. WHO was founded in 1948 to monitor public health at global level WHO is an agency of United Nations that was formed in 1948 to ‘direct and coordinate international health within United Nations system.’ In simpler terms, WHO plays a pivotal role in the governance of health and diseases, at a global level. Besides taking up a leadership role on global health, some major functions of WHO include research, monitoring and assessment of health trends and concerns, and formulation of policies. During public health emergencies, like the current one due to COVID-19, it is the WHO that takes a leadership role and provide guidance to countries on what all needs to be done and precautionary measures to be taken. Presently, there are 194 member states with which WHO works. WHO relies on contributions from these member countries and private organizations for its budget. Assessed contributions and voluntary contributions are the sources of funding for WHO To meet itsbudgetary expenses, WHO receives contributions falling in either of the twocategories – assessed contributions and voluntary contributions. Dues paid bycountries to be a member of WHO are known as assessed contributions. The amount to be paid by each country is calculated basedon its wealth and population. Voluntary contributions are funds which are given by member states (in addition to their assessed contribution), private organizations, and even individuals. Just as the name suggests, these contributions are purely voluntary. Core voluntary contributions are those funds which are flexible and can be used to cover general expenses or low funded activities, thereby facilitating the easy implementation of programs. Specified voluntary contributions are those which are earmarked for ‘specified’ projects or activities. Assessed contributions account for only 1/4th of program budget while voluntary contributions make up for remaining 3/4th Over the years,assessed contributions have dwindled as a proportion of program budget. Itaccounts for only less than a quarter of WHO’s finances. Meanwhile, voluntarycontributions account for the remaining 75% of WHO’s funding. Advantage ofassessed contributions over voluntary contributions is that it is flexible andhas higher predictability since it is agreed with member states in advance. Thishelps in planning budget accordingly. Furthermore, it reduces dependence ondonors. Large chunk of contributions to WHO are specified voluntary contributions As of the fourthquarter of 2019, WHO received a total contribution of US$ 5.62billion comprising of assessed contributions of $956 million, specifiedvoluntary contributions amounting to $4.38 billion, core voluntarycontributions of $160 million, and PIP contributions worth $178 million, forthe biennium 2018-19. In other words, the biennial budget of the WHO is around$5.62 billion an annual budget of around $ 2.8 billion. As is evident from thedata, specified voluntary contributionsmake up for the larger chunk of contributions. USA’s contributionamounts to $893 million including an assessed contribution of $236.9 millionand specified voluntary contribution of $656 million as in the last quarter of2019. Similarly, India’scontribution amounts to $18.3 million specified voluntary contribution and $7million assessed contributions, totalling to $25.3 million. Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework was introduced in 2011 Since 2011, Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Partnership Contribution was introduced in addition to the existing type of contributions.