Norway

Norway is a strong supporter of WHO’s Health Emergencies programme, contributing US$ 24 million in the 2016-2017 biennium. Nearly US$ 12 million of this went to critical programming in Syria for outbreak and crisis response (video right).  In 2018, Norway stepped in at a critical moment during the 9^th outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to provide medical evacuations and a contribution of NOK 8 million, which supported WHO in containing the outbreak quickly and effectively. Norway continues to support the outbreak in 2019, contributing US$ 3.2 million to the effort, sending a team of specialist health personnel and three isolation units developed in Norway for the transport of patients with highly infectious diseases.

Norway also contributes to global health security by supporting WHO's Contingency Fund for Emergencies (CFE). Norway has given over US$ 2.39 million to the CFE in the current 2018-2019 period, which helped WHO respond to 30 disease outbreaks and health emergencies in 29 countries, including outbreaks of malaria and cholera in Nigeria and Ebola in DRC. 

As of August 2019, Norway hosted eight WHO collaborating centres, which contribute research and scientific expertise on a wide range of topics including health promotion and education, digital health and telemedicine, occupational health and health systems strengthening.

The WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology develops and maintains the Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) Classification system for medicinal products and their Defined Daily Doses (DDD). The centre also provides technical support, training courses and lectures to Member States. The WHO Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Meningococci develops and implements tools, methodologies, practices, networks and partnerships for the prevention, detection, preparedness and intervention that assists Member States and the international community in detecting, assessing, responding to and coping with meningitis. Both centres are hosted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.

Norway's collaboration and contribution to the Human Reproduction Programme, a partnership hosted at WHO, gives crucial support to women and men, including adolescents and those who are under-served and marginalized, for getting access to sexual and reproductive health information and services.

In 2018, funding from Norway supported the development of a WHO clinical handbook, Care of girls and women living with female genital mutilation. This document addresses the health care needs of the 200 million girls globally who have suffered from FGM and the more than 3 million girls who are at risk of FGM every year, a number that is projected to rise to 4.6 million by 2030 if prevention efforts are not accelerated.   

Ambassador Hans Brattskar, Norway's Permanent Representative to the UN, has advocated for, "Accelerating the Eradication of FGM" at several United Nations events including the 15th Anniversary of the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation, organized and supported by Norway, WHO and other partners.

With Norway's support WHO continues to advocate for this harmful practice to stop.  In 2020 WHO will launch two products which will work towards ending FGM: (1) an innovative training package for midwives and nurses, who can play an important part in preventing FGM; the package, which includes a training manual, an animated video, and training aids, will be tested in a multi-country study in three high prevalence countries; and (2) an online cost calculator to estimate the cost savings to countries of investing in FGM prevention within and outside the health sector. 

Norway supported the Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care, a global surveillance system that monitors all attacks in an effort to eradicate them, ensuring that essential life-saving health services are unhindered by any form of violence. 

WHO works to eradicate these attacks by collecting evidence, advocating against them, and implementing best practices for the prevention of attacks against health. The Organization has called repeatedly for attacks to stop against health facilities, innocent health workers and patients.

In 2018 Norway contributed NOK4 million to WHO through the Norwegian Development Program to Combat Marine Litter and Microplastics. WHO, in cooperation with UN Environment, has used this funding to begin mapping the health impacts of microplastics. Thanks to Norway, WHO recently released an analysis of research related to microplastics in drinking-water and called for a crackdown on plastic pollution. 

In 2016-2017 Norway contributed over US$ 5 million to WHO to protect people's health from environmental threats like air pollution, responsible for an estimated 13 million deaths every year. With this funding WHO implemented programming in Montenegro, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, and Ghana among other places. 

In Nepal WHO and the government worked together to launch the Urban Health Initiative (UHI) in Kathmandu, and supported Nepal in the implementation of nearly 2200 Water Safety Plans, ensuring that over 4 million people had access to safer water. In response to the 2017 floods in Nepal, WHO provided filters, water disinfecting tablets and training to community members on disinfecting water sources. This was instrumental in preventing disease outbreaks.

In 2018, the government of Norway continued to provide critical contributions to the Global Polio Eradication Initiative through WHO and GAVI, as part of its multi-year commitment pledged in 2013 at the Vaccine Summit. Norway’s total contribution to the GPEI is US$ 291 million.

The 2018 funds to WHO were channeled to outbreak countries and key at-risk countries, where vaccinators and health workers traveled far and wide to reach the most vulnerable populations. Key results in 2019 included certification of the global eradication of wild poliovirus type 3, as well as the development of the GPEI Gender Equality Strategy, 2019-2023.

The polio network routinely conducts surveillance for other diseases of public health importance, including measles, yellow fever, neonatal tetanus and avian influenza.

With local knowledge of communities, health systems and government structures, and a greater focus on gender-responsive health delivery, the polio network’s technical capacity in disease surveillance and planning of large-scale operations often helps sustain international and national relief efforts.

Norway is a core contributor to TDR, the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases that is co-hosted by WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and the World Bank. TDR aims to reduce the burden of infectious diseases of poverty through research and innovation. In 2018 Norway contributed over US$ 357,270.

The funding supported TDR’s core activities, which focus on strengthening research capacity, research for implementation, and global engagement through an integrated approach.

Results from TDR's research and clinical studies recently led to the approval of a landmark treatment for river blindness. Around 200 million people are at risk for the disease that causes severe itching, disfiguring skin conditions and visual impairment, including blindness. More than 99% of infected people live in 31 African countries. TDR was instrumental in the evaluation of moxidectin for river blindness over nearly two decades of research and collaboration.

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