The World Health Organization (WHO) is planning to cut its annual budget by over 20 percent and reduce its staff, as a result of the financial constraints caused by the United States’ withdrawal from the organization. According to a report by Agence France-Presse and Reuters, citing an internal document signed by the WHO’s Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, on March 28, the organization is facing a severe financial crisis, with an estimated loss of nearly 600 million US dollars in revenue this year.
The document states that the WHO has proposed a reduced budget of 4.2 billion US dollars, a 21 percent decrease from the originally proposed budget. The organization has no choice but to reduce its activities and staff, with the reduction to begin at its headquarters and affect all levels and regions.
The US withdrawal from the WHO, announced in January, was initially undertaken by former President Donald Trump, but later reversed by his successor, Joe Biden, on the day of his inauguration. Trump had claimed that the WHO was demanding “unfairly high payments” from the US and pointed out that China, with a population four times larger, paid only 10 percent of what the US paid to the WHO.
Following Trump’s decision, the WHO suspended the hiring of new staff and reduced travel expenses on February 3. The US was the largest contributor to the WHO, accounting for around 18 percent of its total financing.