-WHO is the leading actor in global health. This deal will strengthen the organisation’s work in areas that we consider important, such as universal health coverage, sexual and reproductive health, and strengthened response in global health emergencies like Ebola, says State Secretary Jens Frølich Holte.
The signing of the deal took place when Jane Ellison, one of the three Deputy Directors of the World Health Organization, visited Oslo on Friday 23 November.
Included in the amount of NOK204.7 million is NOK4 million that will go towards work on marine litter so that WHO, in cooperation with UN Environment, can start the process of mapping out the health impacts of microplastics and assess whether this should be included in WHO’s overall work on health and environment. In line with the budget settlement in the Norwegian Parliament, it is planned for strengthening the support to WHO’s work on assistance for people with disabilities and combatting tobacco-related deaths and diseases in developing countries. This has been set out for implementation in the deal for next year.
Global health is a central part of Norwegian development policy, and in 2018 we contributed approximately NOK4.8bn to this field. The WHO is an important partner for Norway, and our cooperation has been great for many years.
Article originally posted in Norwegian at regjeringen.no.