WHO will cut 20 % of its budget after the American withdrawal decided by Donald Trump – Liberation

The drastic cut, risks having terrible consequences. The World Health Organization (WHO) is forced to reduce by 20 %, one fifth, the budgets allocated to its missions and its workforce, following the decision of the United States, its main contributorto withdraw your financial support. He’s the director, Tedros adhanom ghebreyesuswho made the announcement in an internal email sent on Friday March 28 to the staff of the UN health agency. The body, based in Geneva in Switzerland, recorded a hole of nearly $ 600 million in 2025.

« Despite all our efforts, we are now to the point where we have no choice but to reduce the perimeter of our work and our staff, » regrets the manager. And this one to specify: « These measures will first apply at the seat, starting with senior leaders, but will affect all levels and all regions. »

In addition to acting the departure of the United States of the WHO as soon as it entered The White House In January, President Donald Trump has also decided to freeze practically all American foreign aid, including important programs to improve health in the world.

In 2020, during the first mandate of the real estate magnate, the United States had already started the steps to leaving the WHO. In January, once re -elected, Donald Trump justified his decision by the gap of American and Chinese financial contributions, accusing the organization of « ripHis country.

The United States was by far the largest contributor to the WHO budget. On the last two -year budget cycle, for the 1920s and 2023, they brought 16.3 % of the $ 7.89 billion in the total budget of the organization. « Drastic reductions in public development assistance by the United States and other countries cause enormous disturbances for United NGOs, NGOs and United Nations, including WHO », underlined the director of the WHO.

Even before the start of the American withdrawal process, the WHO was already faced with financial constraints. But « The announcement of the United States, combined with recent reductions in public development aid of certain countries to finance an increase in defense spending, has made our situation much more critical, » he underlines. « Although we have made substantial cost savings, current economic and geopolitical conditions make the mobilization of resources particularly difficult ».

In February, the WHO Executive Council reduced the budget proposed for 2026-2027 from 5.3 to 4.9 billion dollars. « Since then, the prospects for development aid have deteriorated », recalled the boss of the WHO. And « We therefore proposed to the Member States a further budget of $ 4.2 billion, a drop of 21 % compared to the budget initially proposed ”.

The majority of American funding came from voluntary contributions for specific projects, rather than a fixed participation. According to estimates that Release could cross-check, 42 ​​% of the costs for humanitarian aid worldwide are funded by the United States, far ahead of the European Union, which only contributes to 8 %.