“Just stupid”
On January 23, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sent a memo to staff announcing the cost-cutting measures. Reuters obtained a copy of the memo.
“This announcement has aggravated our financial situation,” Tedros wrote, referring to US withdrawal plans. The WHO budget comes mainly from voluntary fees and contributions of the member states. Quotas are a percentage of each member state’s gross domestic product, and the percentage is set by the UN General Assembly. U.S. contributions account for about 18 percent of WHO’s total funding, and its budget for the 2024-2025 biennium was $6.8 billion, according to Reuters.
To prepare for the budget cut, WHO is pausing hiring, significantly reducing travel expenses, making all meetings virtual, limiting IT equipment upgrades, and suspending office remodeling.
“This set of measures is not exhaustive and more will be announced in due course,” Tedros wrote, adding that the agency would do everything possible to protect and support staff.
The country’s pending withdrawal has been harshly criticized by world health leaders and American experts, who say it will make the world less safe and weaken the United States. In a CBS/KFF Health News report examining the implications for global health On the US withdrawal, Kenneth Bernard, a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution who served as a senior biodefense official during the George W. Bush administration, didn’t mince words:
“It’s just stupid,” Bernard said. “Withdrawing from the WHO leaves a void in global health leadership that will be filled by China,” he said, “which is clearly not in the best interest of the United States.”