The World Health Organization has taken steps to stabilise its finances at its annual assembly which ended on Tuesday after the withdrawal of its biggest donor, but still remains well short of reaching its already reduced target.
The withdrawal of the United States of America from the WHO had forced the international body to trim its already smaller 2026-2027 budget from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion.
The slimmer budget plan was approved during the World Health Assembly, which serves as the WHO’s decision-making body. But a funding gap of some $1.7 billion remains.
Other countries have pledged support and voluntary contributions as funding for the health organisation. At a pledging event last week, donors put in an additional $210 million for the 2025-2028 investment round, supporting the WHO’s base budget.
That included $80 million from Switzerland, $57 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, $13.5 million from Sweden and $6 million from Qatar.
Remember that President Trump upon returning to office in January, started the one-year process for leaving the WHO, and had frozen virtually all US foreign aid.
The United States was previously the WHO’s largest donor.
Washington’s departure, and its refusal to pay its membership fees for 2024 and 2025, has left the WHO reeling financially.
However, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sent a video message in which he branded the organization as bloated and moribund, and urged other countries to “consider joining us” in creating new institutions instead.
Kennedy said the UN agency was under undue influence from China, gender ideology and the pharmaceutical industry.
The budget deficit has forced the WHO to reorganise its executive management team from fourteen to seven, and departments from 76 to 34.
According to reports from AFP, the health body has however not announced any large-scale layoff, unlike other UN agencies.
