The World Health Organization (WHO) is proposing to reduce its staff and scope of work as its budget is slashed by more than a fifth due to the withdrawal of funding from the United States, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.
The administration of US President Donald Trump withdrew from the WHO after he took office in January, saying the global health agency had mishandled the Covid-19 pandemic and other international health crises.
The US is by far the largest contributor to the UN health agency, providing about 18 percent of its budget.
“The US announcement, combined with recent cuts in official development assistance from some countries due to increased defence spending, has made our situation much more acute,” said the WHO memo, dated March 28 and signed by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Faced with a revenue gap of almost $600 million this year, the WHO has proposed cutting its budget for 2026-2027 by 21 percent, from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion, the memo said.
“Despite our best efforts, we are now at a point where we have no choice but to reduce the volume of our work and workforce,” the memo said.
