SWITZERLAND: The World Health Organization (WHO) chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called on global leaders to urge the United States to reconsider its decision to leave the agency. He warned that the U.S. would miss out on crucial information about global disease outbreaks if it stays out.
At a key WHO meeting last Wednesday, diplomats discussed how the organization would cope with losing its biggest donor.
The U.S. currently contributes around USD988 million to WHO, making up 14% of its total USD6.9 billion budget for 2024-2025. A WHO document presented at the meeting said that the United State funds many of WHO’s emergency programs, including those in Ukraine, Sudan, and the Middle East. Without this support, critical operations, including polio and HIV programs, could be at risk.
George Kyriacou, WHO’s finance director, said that if the U.S. exit proceeds as planned, the agency could face serious financial issues by mid-2026. The U.S. has yet to settle its 2024 contributions, pushing WHO into a deficit.
Despite the financial challenges, Dr. Tedros said that WHO is still providing data to U.S. scientists. He also urged other countries to push the U.S. to reconsider its withdrawal. WHO is also dealing with health emergencies such as the Marburg virus in Tanzania, Ebola in Uganda, and monkeypox in Congo.
Dr. Tedros defended WHO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which President Trump criticized as mishandled. He pointed out that WHO had alerted the world about the virus early and made significant reforms since then. He also stressed that the departure of the U.S. is not about money, but about the loss of vital health information and outbreak details that the U.S. would need in the future.
Countries like Bangladesh and France expressed concerns about the impact of the U.S. exit on global health programs and asked what steps WHO is taking to mitigate the funding loss.
While some experts see the U.S. exit as a crisis, others believe it could be an opportunity to rethink global public health. Matthew Kavanagh from Georgetown University noted that the U.S. contributes less than 1% of its health budget to WHO, but in return, gains significant benefits, such as information about global disease outbreaks and virus samples for vaccines.
WHO’s emergency chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, stated that while losing U.S. funding is a setback, other countries have the capacity to fill the gaps. However, experts like Kavanagh argue that without the U.S., the WHO’s ability to track global health threats will diminish, leading to worse outcomes for Americans.