The World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed to kill the fifth of its budget after the decision to withdraw its budget, and now it should reduce its reach and workforce, its head said in an internal email viewed by AFP on Saturday.
WHO 2025 is facing an income gap of about $ 600 million and “no alternative”, but to start cutting, which Director General Tedros Adhanom Gabreyas said in a message sent to the United Nations Health Agency employees on Friday.
In addition to triggering US Pulout from WHO after returning to the White House in January, President Donald Trump decided to freeze almost all US foreign aids, including great assistance towards promoting health worldwide.
The United States was the largest donor of the WHO so far.
Tedros said in its email, “The United States and others are creating massive disruption in dramatic deduction countries, NGOs and United Nations agencies for official development assistance.
He said that before Trump trigger the process of withdrawing from WHO, the organization was already facing financial obstacles, and started working on efficiency measures more than nine months ago.
Tedros said, “The United States declaration, with recent deduction in official development assistance by some countries, has made our status more intense, to increase defense spending more.”
“While we have achieved adequate cost savings, the prevailing economic and geopolitical conditions have made resource raising especially difficult.
“As a result, we are facing an income gap of about $ 600 million alone this year.”
Who cuts the budget
Last month, the WHO Executive Board reduced the proposed budget for 2026-2027 from $ 5.3 billion to $ 4.9 billion.
“Since then, the approach to development aid has not only deteriorated for WHO, but also for the entire international health ecosystem, not only for WHO,” Tedros said.
“Therefore, we have proposed another low budget of $ 4.2 billion to member states – 21% decrease from the original proposed budget.”
For 2022–23, in the last two-year budget cycle of the body, the United States picked at $ 1.3 billion, which represents a budget of $ 7.89 billion after 16.3% of WHO.
Most of American funding were through voluntary contributions to specific Gods projects, rather than fixed membership fees.
“Despite our best efforts, we are now at the point where we have no choice but to reduce our work and workforce,” Tedros said.
“This shortage will begin at the headquarters, starting with senior leadership, but will affect all levels and regions.”
