WHO cuts its departments and management team in half following US exit

"There is no alternative but to reduce the size of our workforce," said World Health Organization (WHO) Secretary Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, as he outlined how the organization plans to cope with the departure of its top contributor, the United States.

"The Secretariat has taken a range of measures to curtail costs in travel, procurement, recruitment, early retirement and more," Tedros said. That “more” includes a significant reduction in executive management, cutting it nearly in half from 14 to 7 members, as well as a consolidation of departments, down from 76 to 34.

The secretary-general described the changes as a “major structural realignment,” following an in-depth analysis of the organization’s priorities. He noted that the reduction in income has already impacted medical care in at least 70 countries.

Tedros was addressing delegates from more than 190 member countries at the opening of the 78th World Health Assembly. During the weeklong gathering, ministers and health officials agreed to a 21% budget cut for the 2026–2027 biennium.

The originally proposed budget of $5.3 billion will be reduced to $4.2 billion—an amount the secretary-general described as “extremely modest.” While 60% of the budget has already been secured, he acknowledged that, “in the current landscape,” covering the remainder “will be a challenge.”

On the day of his inauguration, President Donald Trump began the process of withdrawing the United States from the organization. While he did not rule out the possibility of rejoining, he called for greater contributions from other nations as a condition. The U.S. withdrawal is still underway, with Argentina following suit. Hungary may be next, as its government has acknowledged it is considering a similar move.

The U.S. withdrawal leaves China as the WHO’s largest state contributor, although the organization also receives significant private funding. The agency’s ties to China have been a point of criticism among Republicans—not only because China has historically contributed less financially, but also due to allegations that the WHO favored China it its handling of the pandemic.