Spain has signed a new agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO), contributing €5.25 million to support WHO programs on health coverage, environmental health, and emergency response. The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and WHO finalized the deal on Friday, June 13, according to a WHO press release. Spain rejoined the WHO Executive Board this year for the first time in nearly two decades.
The funding comes as Spain steps up its global health involvement through a new strategy launched in May. AECID has ramped up flexible funding for WHO activities as part of Spain’s broader health diplomacy push.
The €5.25 million is part of a larger €60 million pledge Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced in November 2024. The country’s multi-year commitment will also support health programs in Jordan, Mali, and Sudan, plus global work on polio eradication, patient safety, and cervical cancer elimination.
“Spain has long been a strong and steadfast partner to WHO and global health,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “We thank Spain for its increased flexible funding of our work.”
Spain will host the 4th International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville from June 30 to July 3, 2025, where health financing will be a top priority. WHO will co-finance a special event calling for action on health financing for economic development.
The World Health Organization is confronting an unprecedented $600 million funding crisis in 2025 following the withdrawal of the United States as its largest donor, compounded by reduced contributions from other major supporting nations, forcing the UN health agency to implement sweeping operational cuts across staff, departments, and regional offices worldwide as it struggles to maintain essential global health programs amid the severe budget shortfall.
