Trump’s WHO exit threat triggers hiring freeze, cost cuts

The World Health Organisation is freezing hiring, suspending investments and cutting non-essential travel in response to US President Donald Trump’s decision to take the US out of the global body.

The US withdrawal “has made our financial situation more acute,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told staff in an email seen by Bloomberg dated Jan. 23. Plans include “cost reductions and efficiencies,” he wrote.

A WHO spokesperson confirmed the authenticity of the email.

Trump’s plan to leave the WHO, one of a flurry of executive orders the incoming president signed on his return to office this week, has left the health agency scrambling to replace its top donor. The US contributed $1.3 billion to the organization between 2022 and 2023, helping the WHO work on containing diseases such as HIV, polio, Ebola and a recent outbreak of lethal Marburg virus.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

The WHO will be freezing recruitment “except in the most critical areas,” the director general wrote. Travel expenditure will be significantly reduced, with all meetings to be virtual by default without “exceptional approval.” Office refurbishments and expansions will also be suspended, along with related capital investments. The exception would be if they were linked to security, safety or relocation to lower-cost places, Tedros said.

The US contribution to the WHO dwarfs payments from other countries, and without it experts have said the agency might be forced to limit its activities. The WHO’s program budget for 2022-2023 was $6.7 billion, with the largest chunks of income spent on contractors and staff. Emergency initiatives get the most money in terms of strategic operations.

The WHO has asked the US to reconsider its decision.

Pandemic fallout

It’s not the first time Trump has taken aim at the WHO. Toward the end of his first term, Trump tried to pull the US out of the health body, accusing it of being deferential to the Chinese government over the Covid-19 outbreak. The move was criticized by health advocates and his political opponents, who accused him of trying to shift blame for his administration’s response to the pandemic.

In his email, Tedros said the WHO will also seek cuts in procurement, including re-negotiating major contacts and limiting replacement of IT equipment.

The measures announced are not comprehensive, the director general said, warning more will be announced in due course. The WHO is looking for new funding, including leaning on efforts by the WHO Foundation which can secure financing from a wider range of sources such as businesses and the public.

“Navigating the challenges we face will require solidarity across WHO, shared responsibility for the good stewardship of our financial resources, flexibility to adjust to the needs of our Member States, and creativity in finding solutions at every level,” Tedros wrote.

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