Source of funding disappears
WHO cuts costs after planned US withdrawal
The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided on initial cost-cutting measures following the USA's declaration of withdrawal. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced an extensive hiring freeze in a letter to staff.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen WHO technical support missions will be scaled back and travel expenses greatly reduced. With a few exceptions, conferences will only take place virtually. The USA has been the WHO's largest donor to date.
WHO chief hopes for a rethink
The decision by US President Donald Trump has exacerbated the WHO's "financial situation" and caused "considerable concern and uncertainty" among employees, wrote the WHO chief. He regretted the planned withdrawal of the USA and hoped that the new US administration would "reconsider" its decision. "We are open to constructive dialogue to preserve and strengthen the historic relationship between the WHO and the US," Tedros emphasized.
Trump declared his withdrawal from the WHO during his first term of office
On Monday, immediately after taking office for his second term, Trump ordered the USA to withdraw from the WHO by decree. "The World Health Organization has ripped us off", Trump said in justification. The USA paid significantly higher contributions to the UN organization than China, for example.
In his first term of office from 2017 to 2021, Trump had already accused the WHO and its head Tedros of being too Beijing-friendly against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic and thus contributing to the global spread of the virus from China. At the time, Trump froze payments to the WHO and declared the USA's withdrawal. However, his successor Joe Biden reversed the move before it formally came into effect.
WHO reacted with regret
The WHO had already reacted with regret to Trump's renewed declaration of withdrawal on Tuesday. The WHO explained that it plays a key role in protecting the health and safety of the world's population, including people in the USA, "by tackling the causes of disease, making health systems more effective and identifying, preventing and responding to health emergencies such as disease outbreaks".
On Friday, a WHO spokesperson in Geneva referred to the growing fear of a possible pandemic caused by the H5N1 bird flu virus. The WHO had already been contacted by concerned people from the USA, said spokesman Christian Lindmeier. They fear "that data will no longer be communicated and passed on". The WHO will "protect" people in the USA from health risks. Dozens of people in the USA have already been infected with the virus and one person has died.
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