WHO has decided to reduce the scope of its work and the number of employees, including at the senior management level, due to funding problems.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to reduce the number of staff and the scope of its activities due to funding problems, including the withdrawal of the United States from the organization. This was stated on Saturday, March 29, in an internal WHO memo, which was reviewed by Reuters.
The reduction will affect all levels and regions, including senior management at the headquarters in Geneva. Reuters, citing documents from the organization, notes that more than a quarter of the 9,473 WHO staff work in Geneva.
The memo says that the US announcement of withdrawal, combined with cuts in aid from other countries to increase defense spending, “significantly exacerbated our situation.” After all, Washington was the largest donor to the WHO, providing about 18% of funding.
According to the document, faced with a deficit of almost $600 million, the organization in February cut its budget for 2026-2027 by 21% – from $5.3 billion to $4.9 billion.
In addition, the WHO began to set priorities and announced an annual limit on staff contracts.
As is known, during his first term, US President Donald Trump announced the severance of relations with the WHO, which he considers “controlled by China”. He criticized the organization for, in his opinion, insufficient measures to prevent the coronavirus pandemic. Under his successor, Democrat Joe Biden, the US returned to the WHO. After returning to the White House in January, the Republican announced that the US would leave the organization. Argentina followed suit.
In early February, the head of the organization Tedros Ghebreyesus said that the WHO was limiting funding for business trips and suspending staff recruitment, “except in the most critical areas.” A month later, Bloomberg reported that employees of the organization who will be over 55 by June have received an offer to retire early.
The WHO pledged to pay each of them four months’ salary and the equivalent of 45 days of unused annual leave if they agree. Foreign workers were promised compensation for the cost of returning home. Those who accept the offer must leave the WHO by July 15. In this way, the organization is trying to reduce labor costs, Bloomberg noted.
