Programme budget 2024-2025

1 RESOLUTION OF THE WHO REGIONAL COMMITTEE FOR SOUTH-EAST ASIA SEA/RC76/R4 PROGRAMME BUDGET 2024–2025 The Regional Committee, RECALLING that the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly approved the extension of the period of the Thirteenth General Programme of Work from 2023 to 2025 through resolution WHA75.6 (2022), CONSIDERING that the Seventy-sixth World Health Assembly in May 2023 approved the WHO Programme Budget 2024–2025 (vide resolution WHA76.1) as the primary instrument to translate the WHO Thirteenth General Programme of Work (GPW13) into specific plans for implementation and to express the planned scope of technical work of the Organization, along with planned Budgetary allocation, NOTING that the Programme Budget 2024–2025 is the last Programme Budget to be prepared in line with the Thirteenth General Programme of Work 2019–2025 and WHO’s ‘Triple Billion Strategic Priority’ approach, WELCOMING the fact that the Programme Budget 2024–2025 builds upon the resolution of the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly WHA75.5 in 2022, in which the Health Assembly approved a revision to the previously approved Programme Budget 2022–2023 in order to incorporate lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic that affected all strategic priorities of the WHO Base Programme Budget, RECOGNIZING that the Programme Budget 2024–2025 is built on country priorities with an emphasis on the three overarching objectives to be achieved at all three levels of the Organization, 2 ALSO NOTING that the Programme Budget is based on a bottom–up planning process and identification of priorities of the Thirteenth General Programme of Work with Member States, for WHO’s technical cooperation at the country level, and aligning these with the regional and global commitments, STRESSING the continued importance of investment in the normative functions of the Organization and the criticality of strengthening country capacity to accelerate progress towards the Triple Billion targets, FURTHER WELCOMING the continued focus on strengthening of transparency, accountability and compliance, as well as opportunities for efficiency savings across all of WHO, and recognizing the importance of allocating adequate and sustainable funds equitably for enabling functions across all country and major offices, REAFFIRMING WHO’s full and continued commitment to and engagement in the implementation of United Nations Development System Reform, and its ongoing work to support countries in their efforts to achieve all the health-related Sustainable Development Goal targets, RECALLING that the allocation of financial resources must be accompanied by progress monitoring and an expectation of measurable results, RE-EMPHASIZING the necessity of ensuring a “strong WHO” that will undertake the leadership role in public health with respect to work that must be carried out under all circumstances to meet WHO’s objective of the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health, WELCOMING the increase in both the absolute level and the proportionate share of the Budget at the country level to strengthen country capacity, RECALLING the decisions WHA75(8) of 2022 – in which the Health Assembly adopted the recommendations of the Working Group on Sustainable Financing1 – and EB152(16) of 2023 – in which the Executive Board endorsed the Secretariat’s Implementation Plan on Reform2 – and WHA76(18) of 2023 – in which the Health Assembly adopted the recommendations of the Agile Member States Task Group on Strengthening WHO’s Budgetary, Programmatic and Financing Governance3, 1 Recommendation of the working group on sustainable financing to the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly. In : Sustainable financing: report of the Working Group. Document no WHA A75/9, Appendix 2. Geneva, World Health Organization, 2022. https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA75/A75_9-en.pdf#page=4 - accessed 16 November 2023. 2 Matters emanating from the Working Group on Sustainable Financing. Document no. EB152/34. Geneva. World Health Organization, 2023. https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB152/B152_34-en.pdf - accessed 16 November 2023. 3 Report of the Agile Member Stages Task Group on Strengthening WHO’s Budgetary, Programmatic and Financing Governance. Document no EB152/33. Geneva. World Health Organization. 2023. https://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/EB152/B152_33-en.pdf - accessed 16 November 2023. 3 TAKING FURTHER NOTE that the South-East Asia Region has received an approved Programme Budget of US$ 537.9 million, consisting of US$ 487.3 million for Base segment, US$ 4.6 million for the Special Programmes segment and US$ 46 million for the Emergency Operations and Appeals segment, wherein US$ 365.2 million out of the Base Budget segment of US$ 487.3 million is further allocated for countries and US$ 122.1 million for the Regional Office, ACKNOWLEDGING that the South-East Asia Region having being certified polio-free, no allocation is being made under Polio Eradication for Programme Budget 2024–2025, and ENDORSING the report and the recommendations of the Sixteenth Meeting of the Subcommittee on Policy and Programme Development and Management in September 2023; 1. URGES Member States to: a) further collaborate with WHO country offices in order to finalize the WHO country biennial workplans 2024–2025 in line with national priorities while contributing to regional and global priorities; b) further support resource mobilization, especially for countries with great resource needs to implement high-priority areas, while further enhancing flexibility in diverting resources to priority areas; c) further collaborate with WHO country offices on technical work of national and regional importance, for improved and optimum utilization of available Programme Budget resources as well as WHO’s social and intellectual capital; and d) strengthen collaborative programme management capacities with the objective of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of WHO’s programme implementation; and 2. REQUESTS the Regional Director to: a) ensure efficient Regional Budget management in a manner that aligns the Budget with priorities as reflected by Member States in the Region and as prioritized by the Programme Budget 2024–2025; b) support mobilization of Voluntary Contributions, especially to countries and programmes that have been unable to achieve full funding of their workplans; 4 c) continue efforts, in consultation with Member States, to develop programme management, monitoring and evaluation capacities in Member States with the objective of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of programme implementation; and d) submit regular reports to the Regional Committee on the state of financing and implementation of the Programme Budget based on the Results Framework of the WHO Thirteenth General Programme of Work, including a Mid-Term Results Report and recommendations therein. Eighth plenary session, 2 November 2023