Financing

Investment to prepare health systems for extreme pressure not only ensures their capacity to cope in a crisis, but also reduces harm. Finance for national health systems should also be sufficient to ensure financial resilience in crisis.

In addition to providing resources for essential crisis-management programmes, soundly constructed systems ensure access for victims to health services during an emergency, and that facilities and equipment are adequately insured for damage or loss.

The case for investing in improved emergency prevention, preparedness and response is strong. In addition to the millions of lives that can be saved, WHO estimates that for every dollar spent on health services, the return is US$ 8.30. To this objective, countries need to include activities for health emergency preparedness in national budgets and health system financing plans.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe, in collaboration with key partners, works with donors to help mobilize additional resources to – among other objectives – implement national action plans for public health emergencies preparedness if necessary.

In the event that emergency funding is needed to respond to the initial phase of an acute emergency, WHO’s contingency fund for emergencies (CFE) can fill a critical gap before funds from other sources can be mobilized.

The CFE has been used on a number of occasions, including in responses to Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Marburg virus disease in Uganda and pneumonic plague in Madagascar. Swift provision of CFE funds shows that a small investment to fund an early response can save lives and dramatically reduce subsequent human and financial costs.

A number of European Member States are contributors to the CFE.