Member states allow WHO to use reserves for salaries and severance

World Health Organization member states agreed Thursday to temporarily suspend a financial regulation, allowing the agency to use its corporate reserves to cover staff costs. WHO is facing a significant budget crisis due to reduced funding from donors, and the withdrawal announcement and termination of U.S. funding agreements. The United States has also not paid its dues to WHO for 2024-2025, amounting to $260 million. The agency was also running a deficit for the past two years, spending more money than it had. WHO has recently taken some belt-tightening measures, including freezing hiring and limiting travel. But as of May 2025, it still faces a salary shortfall of $317 million for the year. As a last resort, the agency asked member states to suspend a financial regulation, allowing it to tap into program support funds to cover staff salaries and severance pay. Without the suspension, WHO says it would be forced to make decisions on staffing based on their contract type — or worse, “could run the risk of insolvency,” according to the committee report. WHO reassured the committee that it would replenish the fund with the pending U.S. assessed contributions “if received in the future.” During the WHA committee discussion on the subject this week, a representative from Norway said that while the fund is an important reserve for WHO, “the current situation justifies and warrants” the move. However, the delegate said suspending the rule won’t address the root cause of WHO’s funding crisis, and urged member states to ensure WHO's activities and deliverables are “within its means and resources.”