WHO proposing to cut jobs and slash budget by a fifth

GENEVA, March 29 (Reuters): The World Health Organization (WHO) is proposing to reduce staff numbers and the scale of its work as it slashes its budget by just over one fifth due to the impact of U.S. funding cuts, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration withdrew from the WHO upon taking office in January, saying the global health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises. The U.S. is by far the U.N. health agency's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding.

"The United States' announcement, combined with recent reductions in official development assistance by some countries to fund increased defence spending, has made our situation much more acute", stated the WHO memo, which was dated March 28 and signed by WHO's Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.