WHO to lose nearly a quarter of its workforce – 2,000 jobs – due to US withdrawing funding | World Health Organization
The World Health Organization has said its workforce will shrink by almost a quarter – or more than 2,000 jobs – by the middle of next year, as it seeks to implement reforms after announcing the departure of its biggest donor, the United States.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew from the agency upon taking office in January, prompting the agency to scale back its work and cut its management team in half.
Washington is by far the largest donor to the U.N. health agency, contributing about 18% of its overall funding.
The Geneva-based WHO projects its workforce will decline by 2,371 positions by June 2026, compared to 9,401 in January 2025, due to job cuts as well as retirements and departures, according to a presentation to its member states on Wednesday.
This does not include the many temporary staff or consultants who UN sources say have been laid off. A WHO spokesperson confirmed the total number of staff leaving the organization and said the workforce would decrease by up to 22%, depending on how many vacancies are filled.
While the global health agency announced the departure of hundreds of employees in August, this is the first time it has given the full extent of the expected change within its global staff.
“This year has been one of the most difficult in WHO’s history as we have gone through a painful but necessary process of prioritization and realignment that has resulted in a significant reduction in our global workforce,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a message to staff on Tuesday seen by Reuters, adding that the process was now coming to an end.
“We are now preparing to move forward with our remodeled and renewed Organization,” he added.
The slides also show the Geneva-based body has a $1.06 billion hole in its 2026-27 budget, nearly a quarter of the required total, down from an estimated gap of $1.7 billion in May.
That excludes $1.1 billion in expected financing that includes deals in various stages of negotiation, the slides show, without giving details.
The WHO spokesperson said the portion of the biennial budget currently unfunded was lower than in previous years, which was due to a smaller budget; the launch of a fundraising campaign; and an increase in mandatory fees in member states.
