Jenny Lei Ravelo

1 week ago | devex.com | Jenny Lei Ravelo

As U.S. Agency for International Development programs get integrated into the State Department, here’s our key question: Which global health programs will continue to be supported under this new arrangement? An Excel sheet and PowerPoint slides — dated April 8 — obtained by Devex has some answers, identifying some of the priorities that willstill receive support from the State Department. And some that won’t.

1 week ago | devex.com | Jenny Lei Ravelo

In a Devex Pro briefing, Elaine Fletcher, editor in chief of Health Policy Watch and former WHO staffer, said there’s a need for WHO to ensure these cuts are strategic and merit-based. To do that, she said transparency is crucial. The World Health Organization has been forced to make workforce reductions as it faces a massive funding gap threatening its operations.

1 week ago | devex.com | Jenny Lei Ravelo

Countries were finally able to agree on a finalized text of the pandemic treaty after more than three years of negotiations. The text, which member states said is far from perfect, was the product of years of resilience and compromise. Negotiations on the pandemic agreement started in 2022 and were supposed to conclude in 2024.

2 weeks ago | devex.com | Jenny Lei Ravelo

WHO claims to have implemented its most ambitious reform under Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. However, experts and current and former staff argue that critical changes are still needed. U.S. President Donald Trump has accused the World Health Organization of failing to adopt much-needed reforms, citing it as one of the reasons why he withdrew the U.S. from the United Nations body.

3 weeks ago | devex.com | Jenny Lei Ravelo

Last Friday, I reported that the World Health Organization faces a $600 million funding shortfall for 2025, as WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spelled out in his email to staff, announcing how “despite our best efforts, we are now at the point where we have no choice but to reduce the scale of our work and workforce.”Reductions will begin at headquarters — which some staffers say will bear the brunt of the cuts, though all levels of the organization will be affected.