Financing Global Health Governance: The World Health Organization, the WHO Foundation, and the Shifting Landscape of Development Financing

<p>This thesis analyzes the structural financing challenges facing the World Health Organization (WHO) and their implications for global health governance. It argues that WHO’s financial fragility is not merely a technical problem but the result of long-standing political and institutional choices that have shifted the Organization away from predictable public financing toward donor-driven, earmarked voluntary contributions. Drawing on WHO constitutional provisions, programme budget data, governance documents, and academic literature, the study traces the evolution of WHO’s financing model and examines how this transformation has constrained the Organization’s priority-setting authority, operational flexibility, and normative leadership.</p> <p>The COVID-19 pandemic serves as a central case study, illustrating how fragmented and unpredictable funding weakened WHO’s capacity to respond to a sustained global health emergency. The thesis also examines emerging financing mechanisms, particularly the WHO Foundation, and concludes that increased assessed contributions and stronger governance safeguards are essential to restore WHO’s financial autonomy globally effectively.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of International Affairs (M.I.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

International Relations

Year dc:date.available

2026

Author dc:creator

• Reyes, Johanny O

Contributors dc:contributor

• Kimberly Gamble-Payne
• Jean Krasno

• World Health Organization (WHO) financing model/ Assessed contributions and earmarked voluntary funding/ Global health governance architecture/ Multi-bi financing mechanisms/ Philanthrocapitalism in global health/ Institutional autonomy and legitimacy
• Other Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1314

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:cc_etds_theses-2386