The World Health Organization will cut costs and
review which health programs to prioritize after President Donald Trump
announced he was withdrawing the US from the agency, the WHO’s chief
told staff in an internal memo seen by Reuters.
Trump
made the move on the first day of his second term in office on Monday,
accusing the UN health agency of mishandling the COVID-19 pandemic and
other international health crises.
“This
announcement has made our financial situation more acute...," WHO
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in the memo dated Jan.
23. It said the WHO planned to significantly reduce travel expenditure
and halt recruitment, except for critical areas, as part of cost-saving
measures.
A WHO spokesperson confirmed the memo — first reported by Reuters — was authentic but declined to comment further.
The United Nations confirmed on Thursday that the United States was due to withdraw from the WHO on Jan. 22, 2026.
The
United States is by far the WHO’s biggest financial backer,
contributing around 18 percent of its overall funding. WHO’s most recent
two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.
The
memo said the WHO had already worked to reform the organization and
change how it is funded, with member states increasing their mandatory
fees and contributing to its investment round launched last year.
But
it said more funding would be needed and costs would have to be cut
simultaneously. This would include making all meetings virtual by
default without exceptional approval, limiting the replacement of IT
equipment, and suspending office refurbishments unless linked to safety
or already approved cost-cutting.
"This set of measures is not
comprehensive, and more will be announced in due course," the memo
reads, adding that the Geneva-based WHO would do everything it could to
support and protect staff.
"As always, you make me proud to be WHO," the memo ends.
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