The World Well being Group chief stated Tuesday that operations and jobs could be slashed as US funding cuts had left the UN company with a price range gap of a number of hundred million {dollars}.
“The sudden drop in earnings has left us with a big wage hole and no alternative however to cut back the dimensions of our work and workforce,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus advised member states, in response to a transcript of his remarks.
The United Nations well being company has been bracing for President Donald Trump’s deliberate full withdrawal of the US—by far its largest donor—subsequent January.
The USA gave WHO $1.3 billion for its 2022-2023 price range, primarily by means of voluntary contributions for particular initiatives somewhat than fastened membership charges.
However Washington by no means paid its 2024 dues, and isn’t anticipated to pay its 2025 dues.
This has left the WHO making ready a brand new construction, which Tedros introduced to workers and member states on Tuesday.
“The refusal of the US to pay its assessed contributions for 2024 and 2025, mixed with reductions in official improvement help by another nations, means we face a wage hole for the 2026-27 biennium of between $560 and $650 million,” he stated.
The decrease finish of that spectrum “represents about 25 p.c of workers prices” presently, he stated, stressing although that “that does not essentially imply a 25-percent reduce to the variety of positions”.
He didn’t say what number of jobs could be misplaced on the WHO, which make use of greater than 8,000 individuals around the globe.
‘Very painful’
However he acknowledged that “we might be saying goodbye to a major variety of colleagues” and vowed to take action “humanely”.
Tedros insisted that probably the most vital affect would doubtless be felt on the group’s headquarters in Geneva. “We’re beginning with reductions in senior administration,” he stated.
“We’re lowering the senior management crew at headquarters from 12 to seven, and the variety of departments might be diminished by (greater than) half, from 76 to 34,” Tedros stated.
WHO’s regional workplaces would in the meantime be affected “to various levels”, he stated, including that some nation workplaces in wealthier nations would doubtless be closed.
“These are very painful choices for all of us,” Tedros stated.
The WHO chief insisted the state of affairs may have been worse.
WHO member states agreed in 2022 to considerably enhance membership charges and cut back the portion of WHO’s price range lined by much less dependable and infrequently earmarked voluntary contributions.
“With out the rise, assessed contributions for the present biennium would have been $746 million,” he stated, including that as an alternative, WHO expects to obtain $1.07 billion in membership charges for 2026-27, “even with out the US contribution”.
Nonetheless, WHO wanted to cut back its actions and recentre on its core features, he stated, at the same time as he acknowledged that “many nations want our help now greater than ever”.
The US administration’s choice to nearly dismantle the US international help arm, USAID, and freeze almost all help, together with to well being initiatives worldwide, had made “very extreme” impacts in creating nations particularly, Tedros stated.
However WHO, he stated, would now have to give attention to serving to nations “transition away from help dependency to better self-reliance”, he stated.
© 2025 AFP
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