"Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the world was off track to meet the health-related Sustainable Development Goals. Now we are even further off track," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Sunday, calling for "a paradigm shift". This week, the WHO secretariat is due to present its programme of work for 2025-2028 to the 194 member states at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. The organisation estimates that it will need $11.1 billion (€10.23 billion) to finance the programme. The WHO says it has already secured more than a third of that sum, around $4 billion (€3.68 billion), thanks in particular to an expected increase in member state contributions. It will seek the remaining $7 billion (€6.45 billion) from donors, particularly foundations. Like other UN agencies, much of WHO's funding currently comes in the form of project-specific money with multiple strings attached and for often too short periods. The idea behind the "investment case" – as the new funding mechanism is called – is to get the money upfront for the duration of the programme of work. "This will allow us to plan longer term and hire the people we need to implement those plans on more secure contracts," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as many of the organisation's staff are currently on short-term contracts. The investment case is part of a wider reform of the organisation's financing, which came under fire during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO has already broadened its donor base and created the WHO Foundation to access new sources of funding. "Two years ago, member states made a historic commitment to progressively increase assessed contributions to 50% of our core budget by 2030, and the first increase has already taken place," said the WHO chief. An "Investment Case Summit" is planned for November to raise the funds. French Health Minister Frédéric Valletoux has already announced that France will be a champion of the mechanism. Read Also: CAR becomes first country to receive new malaria vaccine (Portuguese version)