WHO may cut staff and budget by more than 20% due to financial shortfall

The Trump administration withdrew from the WHO shortly after taking office in January, citing its poor handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises. The United States is the WHO's largest donor, contributing about 18% of its total budget.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. Photo: WCC

"Following the announcement by the United States, along with some countries reducing official development assistance to increase defense spending, our financial situation is becoming more serious," Reuters quoted an internal WHO memo, dated March 28, signed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The WHO is facing a budget gap of nearly $600 million this year. To respond, the organization has proposed reducing its 2026-2027 budget from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion, a 21% reduction.

The memo also stressed that WHO “has no choice but to scale down operations and reduce its workforce”.

Senior positions at the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland will be affected first. However, all levels and regions around the world will also be affected by the cuts.

WHO expects to finalize resource prioritization and budget allocation by the end of April. According to internal documents, WHO has about 9,473 staff globally, of which more than a quarter are based in Geneva.

Another memo, dated March 10, said the WHO had begun a review of priorities and imposed a one-year contract limit, while seeking additional funding from countries, private donors and philanthropic organizations.

The US withdrawal from the WHO not only severely depletes the organization's budget but also has a major impact on global health programs.

While the WHO is looking for alternative sources of funding, filling the nearly $600 million budget gap will be a major challenge. Several countries and international organizations are calling on the United States to reconsider its decision to withdraw from the WHO, but the Trump administration has remained firm.

Cao Phong (according to Reuters, WHO)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/who-co-the-cat-giam-nhan-su-va-ngan-sach-hon-20-do-thieu-hut-tai-chinh-post340710.html