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Research highlights that about 90% of the WHO's funding is now from voluntary contributions, and most of this is "earmarked" by donors for specific projects. Studies seek to map these financial flows to understand if this funding forces the WHO to prioritize certain diseases over others.
The role of major private and commercial donors is a significant focus. Research examines how financial power allows non-state actors to shape global health policies and research agendas, which can conflict with public health interests.
Studies investigate how voluntary, donor-driven funding undermines the democratic structure of the WHO, and the need for better tracking of how specific grants are spent and whether they create further conflicts of interest.
Evidence suggests that while 10/90 gaps exist, there is a further, more severe "3/97 gap," where only a small proportion of research funding is directed towards health care delivery in low-income countries.
Research also explores the incentives that drive donor support, focusing on:
Research seeks to understand the incentives behind why donors choose specific, earmarked projects over unearmarked, flexible funding.
Studies are analyzing whether new mechanisms, such as the WHO Foundation, act as an effective buffer to insulate the WHO from private sector or philanthropic undue influence, as designed, or if they facilitate it.
The WHO’s own guidelines for health research prioritization are being scrutinized to ensure that these processes are ethical, transparent, and not driven by external donor interests.