KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama) -- The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched its 2026 Global Health Appeal, seeking nearly US$1 billion (RM4.4 billion) to sustain life-saving health services for millions of people affected by conflict, climate shocks, and disease outbreaks across 36 emergencies worldwide.
The organisation’s Representative to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and Singapore, Dr Rabindra Abeyasinghe, said the appeal is crucial to ensuring continued access to essential health services for communities affected by humanitarian crises, particularly in settings where local health systems have been disrupted.
"This appeal does not relate to WHO’s routine work, but it relates to a component of its routine work where we help communities and people affected by humanitarian crises, conflicts, and emergencies,” he said during an online interview on Bernama TV’s Bernama World programme on Friday.
Dr Rabindra said 14 of the 36 targeted emergencies are classified as "Grade 3” crises - the highest level of severity under the WHO’s emergency classification system. A Grade 3 emergency means that a country office alone, or even with regional support, is unable to respond, requiring resources to be mobilised across all three levels of the organisation.
He listed key priority countries for the 2026 appeal, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, the occupied Palestinian territory, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen.
Beyond country-specific crises, the appeal also covers responses to large-scale disease outbreaks such as cholera and mpox, which continue to threaten vulnerable populations.
Despite reaching nearly 30 million people last year through vaccinations and mobile clinics, Dr Rabindra said the WHO remains constrained by a tight global funding environment which limits its ability to respond to every humanitarian crisis and sustain long-term support.
He added that the sheer scale and complexity of global health emergencies continue to strain the organisation’s capacity to prioritise, target, and deliver effective responses.
Dr Rabindra urged governments and donors to view contributions not merely as charity, but as a moral imperative to uphold human dignity.
"It is particularly important that we send a strong signal that the global community has not forgotten people in their time of difficulty,” he said.
He stressed that while the appeal focuses on specific emergencies in 2026, the need for sustained support remains ongoing as conditions on the ground continue to evolve. -- Bernama
