LONDON, Feb 3 — World Health Organisation (WHO) member states will discuss cutting part of its budget by US$400 million (RM1.79 billion) in light of President Donald Trump’s move to withdraw the United States, its biggest government funder, from the WHO, a document released today showed.
Opening the United Nations agency’s annual executive board meeting, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also defended the WHO’s work and recent reforms and reiterated a call for Washington to reconsider its exit and enter into dialogue with the agency on further change.
“We would welcome suggestions from the United States, and all member states, for how we can serve you and the people of the world better,” he said.
The budget cut will be addressed at the February 3-11 Geneva meeting, during which member state representatives will discuss the agency’s funding and work for the 2026-27 period.
The executive board proposes cutting the base programmes section of the budget from a proposed US$5.3 billion to US$4.9 billion, according to a document released today. That is part of the wider US$7.5 billion budget for 2026-27 that was originally proposed, including money for polio eradication and tackling emergencies.
“With the departure of the biggest financial contributor, the budget could not be ‘business as usual,’” the document reads. The US is the WHO’s biggest government donor, contributing around 18 per cent of its overall funding. The WHO has already separately taken some cost-cutting steps after the US move.
However, some board representatives also wanted to send a message that the WHO would preserve its strategic direction despite the challenges, the document adds.
The US$4.9 billion is roughly the same as the base programme budget for the previous period, 2024-2025.
Trump moved to exit the WHO on his first day in office two weeks ago. The process will take one year under US law.
Today, Tedros also specifically addressed some of Trump’s criticisms, including around the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and the WHO’s independence.
He said the agency acted fast on the Covid-19 outbreak, adding that the WHO is happy to say no to member states where requests go against its mission or science.
— Reuters
