Sawt Falasteen - WHO worker aims to raise $1 bn to cover US pullout

Tania Cernuschi, 46, told AFP she had the brainwave just after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order announcing Washington would leave the WHO, one of his first actions on returning to office on January 20.

The WHO's financial shortfall is set to grow further after Argentina announced Wednesday it was also quitting the UN health agency.

Cernuschi is aiming to raise $1 billion to make up for US contributions, which amounted to $1.3 billion -- or 16 percent of the WHO's budget -- for the years 2022-2023.

"I was disturbed by the news," said Cernuschi, an Italian development economist who has been at the WHO for 10 years.

"I woke up in the morning and thought of the campaign, and asked whether I could go ahead. And nobody stopped me."

She launched her "One Dollar, One World" fundraising page on the website of the WHO Foundation -- the arm of the UN agency that matches private finance with high-impact health projects.

"I'm asking for one dollar from a billion people, for $1 billion in total. But people can give more," she said, adding that all funds go directly to the foundation.

More than 3,000 donors from countries across the world have chipped in, she said, raising some $104,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

"We have about 20 who have given more than $500 and we're expecting a big donation in the coming days of $20,000 which would be great," she said.

- Individuals 'critical' -

The WHO Foundation was launched in 2020 to mobilise private donations for the health agency in a similar way to other UN bodies.

"Individual giving is critical for many international organisations," said WHO Foundation chief executive Anil Soni.

"UNICEF raises over a billion a year. UNHCR $500 million per year," he said, referring to the UN children's and refugee agencies."

The WHO Foundation has so far "built up a community of 40,000 individuals" who have donated, Soni told AFP.

Overall, it has brought in $6 million from individuals and $26 million from companies since 2021 -- including $5 million from US social media giant Meta.

- 'Big frustration' -

Cernuschi had thought her initiative might not even raise $200, and said it was "more an act of solidarity than a fundraising campaign".

"I've worked all my life in the UN system and in non-governmental organisations, and I believe in what I do," said Cernuschi, who used to work for UNICEF and the Gavi vaccine alliance.

While individuals and businesses cannot be expected to carry the burden of funding the WHO, she said the agency must better explain its work -- particularly in developed countries.

"There's a lot of thinking that we work for poor countries -- which we do -- but there is a benefit also to citizens in richer nations," she said, citing how the bulk of the vaccines and medicines are produced in wealthy states.

She also admitted to feeling a "big, big frustration" with UN bureaucracy.

"We all need to become more agile, more flexible, more impactful, more efficient," the economist said.

But she stressed that the WHO saves thousands of lives every day across 194 countries with a budget of "less than a major city hospital".

"I call that efficient," she added.

I.Yassin--SF-PST