The second consecutive 20% increase in the mandatory annual membership fee of member states is part of a deliberate World Health Organization (WHO) strategy to institutionalize discretionary spending of the global agency’s billion-dollar budget, a consumer group warned.
“This shift toward ‘core funding’ is part of a deliberate WHO strategy: to move away from specific, donor-driven initiatives and toward general budget increases it can spend at will—on salaries, travel, and yes, real estate,” said the Consumer Choice Center (CCC).
“These funds are being funneled into a top-heavy administrative structure with minimal transparency and questionable accountability, instead of being allocated for pandemic preparedness or child vaccination programs,” it said.
The CCC is an international non-partisan consumer advocacy group that champions smart policies fit for growth, promotes lifestyle choice, and embraces tech innovation.
Following the agency’s budgetary issue after the US withdrawal from the WHO, WHO member states approved a 20% increase in membership fees or “assessed contributions” as they endorsed the Organization’s 2026–2027 budget of US$ 4.2 billion during the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) held in Geneva on 20 May 2025. Member states approve the WHO budget on a biennial basis.
Historically, the WHO budget is sourced from voluntary contributions strictly designated by donors for specific programs. In contrast, mandatory annual membership fees provide the WHO with flexible funding it can allocate with full control.
“While global healthcare systems buckle under the strain of underfunding, growing waitlists, and staff shortages, the WHO is busy redirecting hundreds of millions of dollars into flexible, unaccountable funding streams it controls without oversight,” the CCC said. “Unlike voluntary contributions from nations that are earmarked for specific health programs, annual membership fees allow WHO leadership—particularly Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus—almost free rein in how the funds are spent.”
The consumer group suspects this strategy to shift to core funding “might explain why more money is being used to upgrade the WHO’s Geneva headquarters than to fight polio. Or why the agency’s senior staff members enjoy perks such as $33,000-per-child education allowances—enough to fund lifesaving HIV treatment for 110 South Africans for a full year. Meanwhile, the average cost of employing the WHO’s 301 most senior staff totals nearly $130 million annually—roughly $432,000 per person, including generous benefits and allowances.”
To put the opportunity cost of WHO’s bloated bureaucracy in perspective, the CCC estimates that the additional $120 million in membership dues each year could directly fund healthcare for 15,000 Germans, 40,000 Poles, 82,000 Georgians, 100,000 South Africans, and 500,000 Indians.
Among the plans for WHO budget spend is the building extension for the agency’s headquarters in Geneva, the most expensive city in the world for construction. Geneva is also the venue for the upcoming 11th Conference of Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in November, which has also come under scrutiny for lack of transparency and impartiality.
After stepping up as the WHO’s top donor following the US decision to leave the international organization, China has expressed its uneasiness with the planned membership fee increase.
“China does not have clear information on the specific amount of assessed contribution increase or how it will be calculated for the coming year,” China’s representative told the WHO Executive Board during the 78th WHA. “It is difficult for any country to agree to such a plan under such opacity.”
The CCC urged national governments to refuse further increases to assessed contributions until the WHO commits to radical transparency reforms, trims senior compensation packages, and rededicates itself to programmatic funding that puts patient care first.
The WHO recently terminated the contract of Dr. Takeshi Kasai, former head of its Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) in Manila, following an internal investigation into allegations of abusive conduct. Dr. Kasai, who had led WPRO since 2019, was accused of fostering a toxic work environment, including making derogatory remarks toward Filipino staff. The WHO confirmed that its findings showed misconduct, and the termination followed a vote by member states of the region.
Unlike the usual practice in other United Nations agencies, WHO regional directors wield considerable autonomy and authority, with the Western Pacific office alone overseeing 1.9 billion people across 37 territories. The WHO has not released details of the internal investigation but confirmed last year that Dr. Kasai was placed on leave and temporarily replaced by WHO Deputy Director-General Zsuzsanna Jakab.
Dr. Saia Ma’u Piukala, a public health leader from Tonga, assumed office as the new regional director in February 2024.
The situation has brought renewed attention to the governance structure of the WHO and the level of oversight applied to its regional leadership as the organization prepares for major global policy discussions.
