Photo Courtesy of AP
GENEVA — Last week, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) urged global leaders to pressure Washington into reversing President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the United Nations health agency, emphasizing that the U.S. would lose vital information about global disease outbreaks.
During a private meeting with diplomats, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the departure would leave the U.S. without critical data on global health emergencies. Meanwhile, countries raised concerns about how WHO would manage with the loss of its largest financial contributor, according to internal meeting notes obtained by The Associated Press. Germany’s envoy, Bjorn Kummel, bluntly warned: “The roof is on fire, and we need to stop the fire as soon as possible.”
For the 2024-2025 period, the U.S. is by far WHO’s largest donor, contributing an estimated $988 million—about 14% of WHO’s $6.9 billion budget. A budget document shared at the meeting revealed that WHO’s health emergencies program is heavily dependent on American funding. In its European office, “readiness functions” are more than 80% reliant on the $154 million the U.S. contributes.
The document noted that U.S. funding forms the backbone of many of WHO’s major emergency operations, covering up to 40% of costs. Responses to health crises in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan could be at risk, and millions of dollars for polio and HIV eradication programs may be lost.
The U.S. also covers 95% of WHO’s tuberculosis work in Europe and more than 60% of efforts in Africa, the Western Pacific, and at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.
At a separate meeting, WHO’s finance director George Kyriacou warned that, if spending continues at the current rate, the agency could face significant cash flow problems by the first half of 2026. He indicated that the current spending model is unsustainable. According to a recording of the meeting obtained by the AP, Kyriacou said WHO had sought to reclaim funds owed by the U.S. for previous expenses but had been unsuccessful.
Additionally, the U.S. has yet to pay its contributions for 2024, further contributing to WHO’s deficit, Kyriacou added.
WHO’s executive board, comprising 34 high-level health officials, was scheduled to discuss budget issues during its latest session, which runs until February 11.
WHO Director-General’s Appeal to Bring the U.S. Back
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was instructed last week to cease all collaboration with WHO, marking a significant break in the partnership. At the budget meeting, Tedros told attendees that despite the withdrawal, WHO continues to share some health data with U.S. scientists, though the specifics remain unclear. Tedros urged member countries to press U.S. officials to reconsider the decision. “We continue to give them information because they need it,” he said. “We would appreciate it if you continue to push and reach out to them.”
WHO is currently battling several health emergencies, including Marburg virus in Tanzania, Ebola in Uganda, and mpox in the Congo.
Tedros also countered Trump’s three main reasons for withdrawing from WHO, which were laid out in the executive order signed on January 20—Trump’s first day back in office. The order criticized WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, its failure to enact necessary reforms, and the claim that U.S. membership imposed “unfairly onerous payments.”
Tedros insisted that WHO was among the first to sound the alarm on COVID-19 in January 2020 and has since made substantial reforms, including efforts to broaden its donor base. He emphasized that the departure of the U.S. was “not about the money” but about the “void” left in global health data and responses. “Bringing the U.S. back will be very important,” he told the meeting’s attendees. “And on that, I think all of you can play a role.”
Germany’s Kummel described the U.S. withdrawal as “the most extensive crisis WHO has faced in the past decades” and asked, “What concrete functions of WHO will collapse if the U.S. funding is no longer available?”
Representatives from countries such as Bangladesh and France also questioned how WHO would adapt to the loss of U.S. funding and which health programs might be cut as a result. Internal WHO documents suggest that the agency could slash major programs in half by the end of the year, depending on available funds.
While WHO declined to comment on whether Tedros had privately asked countries to lobby on the agency’s behalf, the situation remains urgent.
Experts Weigh In: U.S. Exit Could Backfire
Some experts argue that while the U.S. withdrawal poses a significant crisis for WHO, it also presents an opportunity to reshape global public health. Matthew Kavanagh, director of Georgetown University’s Center for Global Health Policy and Politics, noted that the U.S. contributes less than 1% of its health budget to WHO, but receives substantial benefits in return, including intelligence on global disease outbreaks and virus samples crucial for vaccine development.
Kavanagh stressed that WHO is “massively underfunded,” and that contributions from wealthy nations like the U.S. represent a fraction of what’s needed.
WHO’s emergency chief, Dr. Michael Ryan, acknowledged that losing the U.S. was a “terrible” blow but reassured member countries that other nations could help fill the gaps. He described the U.S. departure as “breaking up” with the global health community.
However, Kavanagh expressed skepticism about whether the U.S. could replicate WHO’s capacity to monitor emerging health threats worldwide. He warned that the U.S. exit would likely lead to worse health outcomes for Americans, though the full extent of the impact remains unclear.
