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The head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) informed staff on Wednesday that the UN agency would cut its management team by almost half due to significant reductions in US funding.
In an email to WHO employees reviewed by AFP, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus revealed the updated “structure of the executive management team” at the organisation’s headquarters in Geneva. The team will now consist of six members, down from eleven. He noted that the new team will take charge starting June 16.
Two prominent figures from WHO’s efforts in combating COVID-19 will depart: Mike Ryan, the emergency director from Ireland, and Bruce Aylward from Canada, who is responsible for advancing universal health coverage. Five current members will stay on, including Jeremy Farrar, a British medical researcher and former leader of the health charity Wellcome Trust based in London.
Farrar will assume the role of WHO’s Assistant Director-General focused on health promotion and disease prevention and control, passing his current role as chief scientist to Sylvie Briand, a French doctor who currently oversees the agency’s Pandemic and Epidemic Diseases Department.
Last month, Tedros informed member states that the organisation would have to reduce its operations and workforce due to US funding cuts, which have created a budget shortfall of several hundred million dollars.
For its 2022-2023 budget, the US contributed $1.3 billion to the WHO, primarily through voluntary donations for specific initiatives instead of fixed membership fees.
By next January, the UN health agency has been preparing for President Donald Trump’s anticipated full withdrawal of the United States, the largest donor.
However, Washington did not fulfil its 2024 financial obligations and is not anticipated to contribute in 2025.
In April, Tedros mentioned that the WHO faced a “salary gap” ranging from $560 million to $650 million for the 2026-2027 period. He did not specify the number of job losses expected, but emphasised that the most pronounced effects would likely occur in positions.
While no further cuts are anticipated in the immediate future, this issue is expected to be a significant concern as countries prepare to meet for the WHO’s annual decision-making assembly next week.
