The World Health Organization will review its strategy and take cost-saving measures to deal with the financial hole left by the announced departure of the United States, while reminding President Trump of the crucial role it plays to “protect » his country of health threats.
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Donald Trump justifies his decision by the gap in American and Chinese financial contributions and accuses the WHO of “ripping off” the United States.
Having just returned from Tanzania, faced with an outbreak of the dangerous Marburg virus, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote to his troops to reassure them of a future without the United States and its money.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
AFP
In an internal letter, of which AFP obtained a copy, he explains the measures taken “to mitigate risks” and “protect activities and staff (…) to the greatest extent possible”.
“We (…) hope that the new (American) administration will reconsider its position. We are ready to engage in constructive dialogue to preserve and strengthen the historic relationship between WHO and the United States,” he wrote.
The United States, which had already taken steps to leave the WHO during Mr. Trump’s first term in 2020, is the main donor and partner of this UN organization based in Geneva.
The American contribution represented a little more than 16% of the WHO budget, which runs over two years, for 2022-2023, or nearly $1.3 billion.
For the head of the WHO, the observation is clear: “this announcement has worsened our financial situation and we know that it has caused a lot of concern and uncertainty among WHO staff”.
Payment arrears
“We are examining the activities to be financed as a priority” and “we are suspending recruitment, except in the most critical areas”, specifies the head of the organization, before setting out a battery of measures to reduce costs and increase efficiency. .
Reduction in travel-related expenses, exclusively online meetings, technical missions “limited to the most essential”, replacement of limited information equipment, suspension of renovations…. And the list is not exhaustive, warns Mr. Tedros.
-The organization will also continue its strategy of diversifying its funding sources.
In principle, it will take a year to finalize the American withdrawal.
“The one-year deadline was established by the US Congress when the United States joined the WHO” and this requirement “stipulates that arrears must be paid in full” before final withdrawal, according to a WHO spokesperson, Christian Lindmeier.
Like the other 193 member countries of the WHO, the United States pays a contribution calculated as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP), to which are added voluntary contributions, which are much higher.
However, in January 2024, Washington had not paid its annual contribution, which amounts to around 130 million dollars, explained Mr. Lindmeier, for whom “this is not unusual”, adding: “to date, we have not received the 2025 contribution either.”
For comparison, China’s contribution (mandatory share) for two years (2024 and 2025) amounts to just over 175 million dollars, or around 88 million per year.
What about global health?
By withdrawing from the organization, the United States will lose privileged access to important epidemic surveillance data, several experts have warned, which could harm the surveillance and prevention capabilities of health threats from the stranger.
This withdrawal is all the more worrying as it comes at a time when the strong circulation of the avian flu virus in the United States is heightening fears of a next pandemic.
The country recorded its first human death linked to the H5N1 virus in early January. If, for the moment, there are no known cases of human transmission, the high circulation of the virus increases the possibility.
However, the WHO “protects the United States thanks to a sophisticated health information system which makes it possible to detect, qualify and evaluate threats in real time,” recalls Mr. Lindmeier.
“The H5N1 flu epidemic is an example, and people have already contacted us to express their concern” because they fear “that the data will no longer be communicated and shared,” he insists.
The spokesperson also notes the important role of the United States in this global health monitoring thanks to its networks of experts: “if the United States were to no longer say anything, that would pose a real problem.”
Before launching: “this is a concern for global health”.
