WHO: US withdrawal presents an opportunity for rebuilding
WHO: US withdrawal presents an opportunity for rebuilding
2-2-2026
The head of the World Health Organization ( WHO ) announced on Monday that the significant funding cuts for 2025, coupled with the United States’ move toward withdrawal, have presented an opportunity to rebuild a more efficient and focused global health organization.
A report by the Korea Times, translated by Al-Maalomah News Agency, stated that “Washington, which has long been the WHO’s largest donor, has reduced its foreign aid spending under Trump, who, on his first day back in office in January 2025, gave the WHO one year’s notice of withdrawal.”
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said during the organization’s annual Executive Board meeting that 2025 was “undoubtedly one of the most challenging years in our organization’s history, as many donors reduced their spending.”
He added, “The massive funding cuts left us no choice but to reduce our workforce, and more than a thousand staff members have left.” But Tedros said this shock was anticipated for the WHO, which has been striving to reduce its over-reliance on major donors. ”
We have largely completed the process of prioritizing and restructuring, and we have reached a point of stability, and we are moving forward,” Tedros affirmed, adding, “Although we faced a major crisis last year, we also viewed it as an opportunity.” This is an opportunity for the World Health Organization, now more efficient, to focus more on its core mission.
He urged member states to continue gradually increasing their membership dues to reduce the WHO’s reliance on donations, with the goal of eventually having membership fees cover 50 percent of the organization’s budget to ensure its long-term stability, sustainability, and independence.
It should be noted that, unlike any other member state, the United States retained the right to withdraw when it joined the organization in 1948, provided it gave one year’s notice and fulfilled its financial obligations in full for that fiscal year.
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