Programme Budget matters: Programme Budget 2018–2019: Implementation

Abstract

This working paper provides information on the technical and financial implementation status of the Programme Budget 2018–2019 for the first semester of the biennium. This interim assessment was conducted in line with the Organization’s Results-based Management approach and commitment to Member States to conduct six-monthly monitoring, besides the mid-term monitoring and end-of-biennium assessment. The technical monitoring shows that over 90% of the 1418 Top Tasks across all budget centres are on track to be achieved during the course of the biennium. Activities for Top Tasks that have started or experienced delays are planned in the subsequent semesters. Consistent progress is noted across all Programme Budget categories. The approved Programme Budget for the WHO South-East Asia Region for the period 2018–2019 is US$ 344.3 million. Of this, US$ 288.8 million is the base budget and US$ 55.5 million is for polio. No specific budget has been approved under the Outbreak and Crisis Response (‎OCR)‎ category as this is subject to scalability in response to event-driven activities. The revised (‎allocated)‎ Programme Budget as on 31 July 2018 is US$ 393.2 million (‎including the OCR component)‎. The total distributed resources as on 31 July 2018 are US$ 202.9 million, which is 52% of the revised (‎allocated)‎ budget. Implementation (‎expenditure)‎ stands at US$ 84.7 million, which is 22% of the allocated budget and 42% of the distributed resources. Utilization of funds (‎encumbrances plus expenditure)‎ stands at US$ 115.4 million, which is 29% of the allocated budget and 57% of the distributed resources. As of 31 July 2018, the Regional Office for South-East Asia has the highest percentage utilization against resources as well as the allocated Programme Budget. The attached Working Paper was presented to the Subcommittee on Policy and Programme Development and Management (‎SPPDM)‎ for its review and recommendations. The recommendations made by the Subcommittee for consideration by the Seventy-first Session of the Regional Committee are as follows: Actions by Member States  Ensure that monitoring of Direct Financial Cooperation (‎DFC)‎ implementation and reporting is carried out within the stipulated time.Pursue collaborative efforts to mobilize additional resources to achieve full funding of the Programme Budget and achieve the agreed programmatic results. Actions by WHO  Continue working on achieving efficiencies in keeping with value-for-money principles.  Continue to monitor technical and financial implementation and bolster resource mobilization efforts to ensure adequate funding for the programmes.  Continue to closely monitor the implementation of the DFCs, including their timely reporting. This Working Paper with updated financial implementation and the SPPDM recommendations are submitted to the Seventy-first Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia for its consideration.