The World Health Organization announced that it needs $1 billion to cover its next budget for the 2026/2027 period, as it strives to compensate for the United States’ withdrawal from it this year.
US President Donald Trump – whose country was the largest donor country to the United Nations organization – decided to stop funding it since his return to the White House in January 2025. Accordingly, the organization was forced to reduce its previously approved budget, from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion.
The Director-General of the Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said during a briefing to member states – yesterday, Wednesday – that “this year was one of the most difficult in the history of the World Health Organization, as we went through a difficult but necessary process to determine priorities and redirect (resources), which led to a significant reduction in our workforce,” adding that “we are approaching the end of this process.”
He pointed out that the organization has secured 75% of the funding for the 2026/2027 budget, but it still faces a deficit of one billion dollars, pointing out that it is in a “much worse situation than it was in terms of mobilizing resources.”
Member states agreed in May to increase mandatory contributions by 20%. But the organization still relies heavily on voluntary contributions from member states and other donors.
In the face of a decline in international aid, thousands of health facilities have been forced to reduce services or suspend operations in areas in dire need of humanitarian support. As a result, the organization was forced to prioritize those most in need.
Ghebreyesus said that adopting measures to reduce expenses contributed to reducing the number of jobs that the organization was forced to cancel, from 2,900 jobs as expected to 1,282. In addition, he reported that 1,089 employees left voluntarily through retirement and early retirement, or at the end of their temporary contracts.