Moving People to Act on Global Health Equity

Sector

Economic justice

Offer

Brand expression

Client

WHO Foundation

The WHO Foundation was established in early 2020 in Geneva to support the World Health Organization’s mission of health equity for all. The group raised $100 million in its four years, marshalling resources from corporations, philanthropies, and individuals, with a majority of funding going to WHO programs and another portion going to a network of implementers, like the vaccine alliance that helps vaccinate more than half the world’s children.

Our approach

Design question

Despite decades of progress, the dream of global health equity remains stubbornly elusive. Factors like climate change, associated increases in vector-borne diseases, socioeconomic inequality, and associated increases in mental health conditions combine to make the need for increased private capital exceedingly clear. But how to paint this picture for funders unaccustomed to giving in the global-health space?

Design response

The WHO Foundation is unique in the realm of world health. Its express mission is not just to raise funds but to mobilize private capital in particular. It is laser-focused on advancing the mission of WHO and publicly commits to deep human-centricity—a devotion to the people whose lives depend on WHO’s work. Not only is this private-sector focus and vocal dedication to human-centered design rare among UN agencies—the WHO Foundation is also unique in its focus on innovation. For this foundation, the problem is not the vision or the idea—the challenge is simply communicating such a different approach to the field. It takes a unique combination of social impact strategy, technical writing and analysis, and breathtaking visual design.

Testimonial

"We are such a young organization, but that can be easy to forget when you look at the size of our ambition. We met Lisa just as the W.H.O. was announcing its first-ever investment round to raise $7 billion for a four-year period from 2025 to 2028—basically reinventing how the sector is funded. We have so many stories to tell, so much complex information to get across. Lisa took traditional whitepapers rooted in science and transformed them into donor-facing artifacts for the modern age of large-scale fundraising. She left us with a suite of communication tools that our team can take straight into the field—visually impactful with crisp writing—and she built the system in a way that we can maintain ourselves. We're trying to revolutionize public-health funding to be more sustainable and flexible, and now we're using a campaign system that is also highly sustainable and flexible. Something about that really works."

Sandra Sorial

Director of Campaigns and Supporter Engagement at the W.H.O. Foundation