Recent cuts to Official Development Assistance (ODA) are triggering a silent emergency—one that disproportionately impacts the women who hold up health systems across the globe.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health ODA is projected to decline by as much as 40%, a shift with grave implications for countries already struggling to build and retain a resilient health workforce.These reductions directly threaten progress on the commitments made by Member States in WHA78.16, the
resolution on health workforce and health systems financing adopted at the 78th World Health Assembly.

This landmark resolution—led by WHO and strongly supported by
Nigeria—calls for urgent, sustained investment in the health workforce as a core pillar of health systems. It emphasizes the importance of domestic resource mobilization, country ownership, and gender-responsive investments, particularly in primary health care and community-based services. WHA78.16 affirms that resilient health systems require not only financial stability but also a rights-based approach that centers the wellbeing and leadership of women in health.

Crucially, both WHA 78.16 and the newly adopted resolution on health financing underscore that the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is not possible without investing in the people—particularly women—who deliver care. Without adequate, sustainable funding for the health workforce, and without policies that prioritize gender equity and decent work, the foundational vision of UHC—health for all, without financial hardship—will remain out of reach.

Complementing WHA 78.16, Member States also adopted a Nigeria-sponsored resolution on health financing, reinforcing the call for greater public investment to accelerate UHC. The resolution urges governments to increase domestic spending on health, echoing the 2019 UN General Assembly call for at least 1% of GDP to be allocated to primary health care. It identifies potential fiscal levers—such as increased taxes on tobacco, sugar, and alcohol—that can both improve public health and generate additional revenues.

Importantly, the resolution encourages countries to invest in affordable, evidence-based essential health benefit packages, developed through inclusive and transparent national processes. This underscores the need to ensure that health systems are not only well-resourced but also equitable, accountable, and aligned with population needs.

The Assembly also marked a historic step forward in equity by recognizing—for the first time—rare and neglected skin diseases as global public health priorities, further widening the lens on inclusion in global health policy.

Yet despite these powerful resolutions and the momentum they represent, the harsh reality on the ground tells a different story. In Togo, Nigeria, Malawi, Zimbabwe, and many other countries, women health professionals are bearing the brunt of funding shortfalls. They are facing job losses, stalled careers, and the collapse of community-based care systems that once relied on consistent international support. Entire programs are being scaled back or shut down entirely—silencing voices, reducing access, and setting back progress toward gender equity, health equity, and the broader UHC agenda.

These are not just numbers. They are midwives without tools, researchers without funding, doctors working without pay, and entire communities left without care.

The testimonies that follow come from women across Africa, Asia, and beyond—those who are living the consequences of shrinking funding and systemic neglect. Their stories highlight both the fragility of the progress made and the extraordinary resilience of women leaders who continue to advocate for dignity, justice, and inclusion in global health.

As WHA78.16 so powerfully reminds us: health workforce investments are not only technical—they are political and moral imperatives. The achievement of Universal Health Coverage depends on them. Every budget cut has a face. And every missed investment is a lost opportunity to build a stronger, fairer, and more equitable global health system.