The member states of the World Health Organization will discuss the cut of part of their budget by $ 400 million in the face of President Donald Trump’s decision to remove the United States, his largest government funder, from WHO, according to a document released on Monday (3).
Upon opening the annual meeting of the UN Agency Executive Board, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also defended the work of WHO and recent renovations and reiterated an appeal for Washington to reconsider his departure and dialogue with the Agency on new changes.
“We would like to receive suggestions from the United States and all member states about how we can better serve you and the people of the world,” he said.
The budget cut will be approached at the Geneva meeting from February 3 to 11, during which representatives of the member states will discuss the agency’s financing and work for the period 2026-27.
The Executive Board proposes to cut the section of basic programs of the budget from a proposal from US $ 5.3 billion to US $ 4.9 billion, according to a document released on Monday. This is part of the largest budget of $ 7.5 billion to 2026-27 that was originally proposed, including money for eradication of polio and emergency confrontation.
“With the departure of the largest financial contributor, the budget could not continue as it was,” says the document. The US is WHO’s largest government donor, contributing about 18% of its total financing. WHO has already taken some cost cutting measures after the US decision.
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However, some board representatives also wanted to send a message that WHO would preserve its strategic direction despite the challenges, the document adds.
The value of US $ 4.9 billion is practically the same as the Basic Program Budget for the previous period, 2024-2025.
