HHS Cuts Ripple Globally, WHO Faces $1.1B Shortfall

The US HHS cuts are also rippling beyond national borders.

According to Reuters, in a memo, the World Health Organization (WHO) has proposed a 21% budget cut from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion following the US government’s decision to withdraw a substantial portion of its funding.

WHO leadership is preparing to lay off staff and scale back operations across regions, including Africa and Southeast Asia.

The March 28 WHO memo stated, “The United States’ announcement, combined with recent reductions in official development assistance by some countries to fund increased defence spending, has made our situation much more acute,” and WHO’s director‑general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus signed it.

Upon taking office in January, Trump’s administration formally withdrew the US from the WHO, citing the agency’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises.

The US had been the WHO’s largest financial contributor, providing approximately 18% of its total funding.

Related: FDA Layoffs: Bird Flu Response in Jeopardy

According to Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the budget reductions could threaten the organization’s ability to deliver vaccines, respond to disease outbreaks and sustain emergency preparedness programs.

He reportedly told senior officials, “This isn’t just about numbers — it’s about lives.”

The agency is looking at an income gap of nearly $600 million this year.

The US withdrawal has deepened an existing funding crisis, as other member states have also scaled back their development spending.

The memo stated, “Despite our best efforts, we’ve reached a point where scaling back both our operations and workforce is unavoidable.”

Job cuts will include senior leadership positions at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, though staff reductions will impact all levels and regions.

The organization plans to determine how to prioritize its work and allocate resources by the end of April.

The WHO budget cuts will likely hit HIV/AIDS, maternal health and pandemic preparedness programs the hardest.

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