The World Health Organization (WHO) is facing a significant salary gap of over $500 million for its upcoming two-year budget, prompting major cost-cutting measures and workforce reductions.
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus revealed the shortfall on Monday during the opening of the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva, themed “One World for Health.”
To address the financial strain, WHO is implementing cost-saving strategies across travel, procurement, recruitment, and early retirements. Despite these efforts, Ghebreyesus confirmed that staff reductions are unavoidable.
“We are reducing staff carefully to protect the quality of our work and emerge stronger,” he said, emphasizing that the financial crunch follows extensive structural realignment based on priority analysis.
The restructuring includes cutting the executive management team from 14 to 7 and consolidating departments from 76 to 34. “Some Member States call it ‘lean and mean’—I call it more focused and impactful,” he added.
WHO’s proposed budget for 2026-2027 is now $4.2 billion, a 21% reduction from the initial $5.3 billion plan. So far, the organization has secured $2.6 billion—about 60% of the needed funds—leaving a $1.7 billion gap still to be filled.
Dr. Tedros also thanked outgoing senior leaders, including Dr. Mike Ryan and Dr. Samira Asma, for their service.
“Let’s be clear: a reduced workforce means a reduced scope of work. We simply cannot deliver everything Member States expect with fewer resources,” he said.
