Faced with $600M income gap, WHO to scale back on work, staff, budget

The World Health Organization will soon start scaling back its work and workforce, starting with senior leadership, as it faces a gaping $600 million hole in its budget in 2025. In an email to staff, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the reduction will begin at headquarters, but “will affect all levels and regions.” It’s unclear what the full impact on staff will be at this stage, but the prioritization exercise that WHO has been undertaking is expected to be completed by the end of April. “Everything is on the table, including merging divisions, departments and units, and relocating functions,” according to the email. WHO has been under pressure to tighten its belt following the January announcement by U.S. President Donald Trump that he is withdrawing the U.S. from the United Nations agency. The U.S. is WHO’s biggest donor, contributing over $1.2 billion in membership dues and voluntary contributions in 2022-2023. The U.S. has not yet paid its annual dues to WHO for 2024 and 2025. Since the announcement, WHO froze hiring, reduced travel, and offered early retirement to staff approaching 55 years old. But while it has implemented some cost-saving measures, “the prevailing economic and geopolitical conditions have made resource mobilization particularly difficult,” according to the email. Tedros said they are proposing further reductions to WHO’s budget for the next two years to $4.2 billion, a 21% reduction from its originally proposed budget of $5.3 billion. This is even lower than what was discussed by member states at the executive board meeting earlier this year. He encouraged staff to use resources available to them, including staff counsellors.