4931 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health

4931 (2026). Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health: What proportion, if any, of New Zealand’s World Health Organization contributions in each of the last five years were discretionary or earmarked funding, and what programmes or regions were they allocated to?

Hon Simeon Brown: I am advised that New Zealand’s assessed contributions to the World Health Organization (WHO) are not earmarked funds. They provide flexible funding that WHO can allocate across the programme budget that is approved by Member States. New Zealand’s assessed contributions to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control are not earmarked funds. They are mandatory dues paid by Parties under an agreed scale of assessment to fund the Convention Secretariat’s workplan and budget, rather than tagged to specific projects or countries. New Zealand’s payment to the WHO Radiation and Health Unit is an earmarked payment linked to the WHO International EMF Project.