WHO Partnership with Bhutan

The World Health Organization (WHO) established its country office in Bhutan in September 1983, four years before Bhutan's accession to WHO membership. Over four decades, the programme of collaboration has expanded from foundational communicable disease control to more than 40 public health programme areas, tracking the evolution of Bhutan's health profile from one dominated by infectious diseases to one increasingly shaped by non-communicable conditions. The partnership operates under a Country Cooperation Strategy (CCS), with the 2020–2025 strategy nearing completion and a new CCS for 2026–2030 under development.

Communicable Disease Control

Early WHO support concentrated on immunisation and the control of tuberculosis and malaria — the two communicable diseases that carried the highest disease burden in Bhutan's pre-transition health profile. WHO technical assistance contributed to the development of the national immunisation programme, which has sustained coverage above 95 per cent and achieved a series of elimination and eradication certifications. Bhutan has been certified polio-free, has eliminated neonatal tetanus and measles, and has achieved control of Hepatitis B to below the 1 per cent prevalence threshold.

Malaria elimination is an ongoing priority: Bhutan is on track for WHO malaria elimination certification, with WHO technical support covering surveillance strengthening, vector control, and the management of residual transmission in border areas with India. Tuberculosis, while no longer the dominant cause of mortality it once was, remains among the top health concerns identified in Bhutan's Annual Health Bulletins; 864 TB cases were reported in 2023. WHO has supported the integration of recent international guidelines into Bhutan's updated national TB management protocols, including the 2024 revision.

Non-Communicable Diseases and Health Systems

As Bhutan's epidemiological transition has progressed, WHO's focus has shifted substantially towards non-communicable disease (NCD) prevention and management. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic respiratory conditions, and cancer are now the leading causes of premature mortality, driven by tobacco use, alcohol consumption, unhealthy diet, and physical inactivity. WHO supports the Service with Care and Compassion Initiative (SCCI) as a primary care strengthening framework and provides technical support for healthy lifestyle promotion and mental health awareness campaigns. HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening were expanded in 2025 with WHO and UNICEF support.

Health system strengthening cuts across the WHO programme. Technical assistance covers health workforce planning, essential medicines access, health information systems, and health financing reform — all areas identified in independent evaluations as requiring sustained support to achieve Universal Health Coverage targets.

COVID-19 and Pandemic Preparedness

WHO provided technical support for Bhutan's highly regarded COVID-19 response, including the vaccination campaign in March 2021 that achieved 90 per cent adult coverage within seven days — one of the fastest national rollouts globally. The WHO–FAO One Health programme, supported through the Pandemic Fund, is building integrated surveillance and laboratory capacities that span human, animal, and environmental health — recognising that most emerging infectious disease threats originate at the human–animal interface. In a country with significant wild animal populations and livestock-dependent livelihoods across mountainous terrain, One Health approaches are particularly relevant to Bhutan's specific epidemiological risk profile.

Country Cooperation Strategy and Governance

WHO's work in Bhutan is governed by successive Country Cooperation Strategies agreed between WHO and the Ministry of Health. The 2020–2025 CCS was evaluated by WHO's independent evaluation office in 2024–2025. The country office works alongside UNICEF on overlapping maternal, child, and adolescent health priorities., providing a systematic assessment of WHO's contribution across all programme areas and informing the development of the 2026–2030 strategy. WHO Bhutan operates under the South-East Asia Regional Office (SEARO) framework, which coordinates technical support across the region including joint programming with UNICEF and other UN agencies under the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework. The country office budget is funded through a combination of assessed contributions and voluntary funding, with voluntary contributions increasingly important for country-specific activities in a kingdom whose modest size means it competes with much larger countries for limited global health financing.

References

1. "WHO Bhutan." WHO Country Page.
2. "Evaluation of WHO contribution in Bhutan (2020–2024)." WHO Evaluation Office.
3. "Bhutan." WHO Results Report 2024–2025.
4. "TB and alcohol-related liver diseases remain top health concerns." The Bhutanese, 2024.
5. "Strengthening Pandemic Prevention through One Health." The Pandemic Fund.