GENEVA\/LONDON: 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\u2019s chief told staff in an internal memo seen by Reuters.
\nTrump 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.
\n\u201cThis announcement has made our financial situation more acute…,\u201d 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.
\nA WHO spokesperson confirmed the memo \u2014 first reported by Reuters \u2014 was authentic but declined to comment further.
\nThe United Nations confirmed on Thursday that the United States was due to withdraw from the WHO on Jan. 22, 2026.
\nThe United States is by far the WHO\u2019s biggest financial backer, contributing around 18 percent of its overall funding. WHO\u2019s most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.
\nThe 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.
\nBut 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.
\n\u201cThis set of measures is not comprehensive, and more will be announced in due course,\u201d the memo reads, adding that the Geneva-based WHO would do everything it could to support and protect staff.
\n\u201cAs always, you make me proud to be WHO,\u201d the memo ends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
GENEVA\/LONDON: 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\u2019s 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457336,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-457324","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n