'Peace is the best medicine': WHO Chief highlights rising military spending; urges for more spending on global health initiatives

Geneva [Switzerland], January 10 : Director-General of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, highlighted how global military spending continues to rise amidst ongoing conflicts, reaching a record $2.7 trillion in 2024. Meanwhile, the spending on global health initiatives has declined significantly. He gave a call for the world to focus on saving lives and not escalating confrontations, calling peace the best medicine.
In a post on X he said, "Global military spending reached a record $2.7 trillion in 2024, with continued rises projected for 2025 amidst ongoing conflicts. Meanwhile, spending on global health initiatives has declined significantly. What the world needs is a greater focus on saving lives, not escalating confrontation. Peace is the best medicine."
The post also had a video message where he said, "For an organisation working on the ground in 150 countries with a vast mission and mandate that member states have given us, $4.2 billion for two years or $2.1 billion a year is not ambitious. It's extremely modest. $2.1 billion is the equivalent of global military expenditure every eight hours. $2.1billion US dollars is the price of one steel bomber and 2.1 billion US dollars is one quarter of what the tobacco industry spends on advertising and promotion every single year."
He added, "It seems somebody switched the price tags on what is truly valuable in our world. Countries spend vast sums protecting themselves against attacks from other countries, but relatively little on protecting themselves from an invisible enemy that can cause far more havoc and damage. If we think $2.1 billion in a year is ambitious, or $4.2 billion for a biennium, then either we must lower our ambitions for what WHO is and does or we must raise the money. And I know which I will choose, and I hope you will choose the same."
https://x.com/DrTedros/status/2009354487040012580?s=20
His remarks come amid developments such as US President Donald Trump on Wednesday saying that after prolonged negotiations with senators, congressmen, secretaries and other political representatives, the 2027 military budget should be increased to 1.5 trillion USD, from the current 1 trillion USD. Trump said that this would allow the US to build a "dream military" and keep America safe and secure.
Making the announcement via a Truth Social post, Trump said that this comes after the tariffs brought in more income to the United States, with the country now having the ability to not only pay down the debt, produce an 'unparalleled military force' and also pay a substantial dividend to "moderate-income patriots" in the US.
Also on Wednesday (local time), he signed a memorandum directing the withdrawal of the United States from international organisations, conventions and treaties that are "contrary to the interests" of the US.
The announcement was made in the statement of the Presidential Memoranda shared by the White House that mentioned withdrawal from 35-non non-UN organisations and 31 UN entities.
The move came almost a year after the Trump administration had announced the withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO) in January 2025, citing the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. The US had also withdrawn from UNESCO in July 2025, saying that the latter was not in the "national interest" of the United States.