Haiti has been identified as one of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) top global health emergency priorities for 2026, as the agency launches a nearly US$1 billion appeal to support millions of people living in crisis and conflict settings worldwide.
The appeal, launched on Tuesday, aims to fund health responses to 36 emergencies, including 14 Grade 3 crises requiring the highest level of organizational response. Haiti is listed alongside Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan, Ukraine, Yemen and others facing severe and prolonged humanitarian health challenges.
The WHO said escalating violence, displacement, disease outbreaks and fragile health systems continue to drive urgent needs in countries like Haiti, where access to basic health care remains severely constrained.
“This appeal is a call to stand with people living through conflict, displacement and disaster – to give them not just services, but the confidence that the world has not turned its back on them,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “It is not charity. It is a strategic investment in health and security. In fact, access to health care restores dignity, stabilizes communities and offers a pathway toward recovery.”
In 2025, WHO and its partners supported 30 million people through its emergency appeal, delivering life-saving vaccinations to 5.3 million children, enabling 53 million health consultations, supporting more than 8,000 health facilities and deploying 1,370 mobile clinics. However, growing global pressures are threatening the sustainability of such interventions.
The 2026 appeal comes amid a sharp contraction in humanitarian financing. WHO reported that global humanitarian funding in 2025 fell below 2016 levels, leaving the organization and its partners able to reach only one-third of the 81 million people originally targeted for health assistance.
Renewed commitments, the agency said, are urgently needed to protect vulnerable populations in fragile states such as Haiti, where health emergencies are compounded by insecurity, climate shocks and recurrent outbreaks of diseases including cholera.
As the lead agency for health responses in humanitarian settings, WHO coordinates more than 1,500 partners across 24 crisis environments, working to keep essential health facilities open, deliver emergency medical supplies, restore routine immunization, and ensure access to sexual and reproductive, maternal and child health services.
Speaking at the launch as co-chair, Ambassador Noel White, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations Office in Geneva, said, “Every humanitarian crisis is a health crisis. That is why Ireland is proud to support the WHO emergency response through unearmarked, flexible and predictable funding of the Contingency Fund for Emergencies.”
Ms Marita Sørheim-Rensvik, Deputy Permanent Representative of Norway to the United Nations Office at Geneva, also underscored the organization’s role in fragile contexts. “In today’s most complex emergencies, WHO remains indispensable – protecting health, upholding international humanitarian law, and ensuring life-saving care reaches people in places where few others can operate,” she said. “From safeguarding access to sexual and reproductive health and rights to supporting frontline health workers under immense strain, WHO’s role is vital. Norway calls on all Member States to strengthen support for WHO so it can continue delivering for those who need it most.”
WHO said early and predictable funding is critical to preventing health emergencies in countries like Haiti from escalating into wider humanitarian and regional security crises. With the requested resources, the agency said it can sustain life-saving care while helping lay the groundwork for longer-term recovery in the world’s most fragile settings.
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