Geneva, May 19, (dpa/GNA) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is facing a shortfall of $1.7 billion over the next two years, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva on Monday.

The WHO’s financial crisis was prompted by the withdrawal of the United States and Argentina from the UN organization, which was founded in 1948.

The US contributed around one-fifth of the WHO’s expenditure. The health organization has already cut its planned two-year budget for 2026-27 by around 20% to $2.1 billion per year.

Tedros said that figure was not nearly enough, and was equivalent to what is spent on military equipment worldwide every eight hours.

The WHO is reducing its top management body from 14 to seven positions and the number of departments from 76 to 34, Tedros said.

Among those leaving is Mike Ryan, the emergency response coordinator who became known during the coronavirus pandemic for his public briefings. The number of employees worldwide is to be reduced by 20% from around 9,500.

The US actually still owes the WHO around $130 million dollars for 2025, though it is considered unlikely that the money will be paid. The US withdrawal from the WHO will take effect at the beginning of 2026.

Tedros spoke on the first day of the WHO’s eight-day annual assembly of members in Geneva.

Formal adoption of international pandemic treaty expected

A key focus of the assembly is the formal adoption of a long-anticipated international pandemic treaty.

Developed at record speed in response to lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic, the agreement aims to prevent the kind of chaos seen in the global scramble for medical supplies and to ensure fairer distribution of vaccines in future health crises.

The treaty is scheduled for formal adoption on Tuesday.

However, several contentious details remain unresolved and are expected to be negotiated separately over the next year as part of an annex to the treaty.

These include, for instance, how vaccine manufacturers obtain pathogens with pandemic potential and what the countries that provide them receive in return.

Germany reaffirms WHO support

Germany’s Health Minister Nina Warken said on the sidelines of the meeting: “The next pandemic must not catch the global community unprepared again,” adding that it is important that not every country acts on its own, as health does not stop at national borders.

A day after Germany pledged to increase its support for the WHO by an additional €10 million ($11.2 million) to help fill the gap left by the US exit, Warken said during her speech at the plenary: “The world needs a strong WHO.”

Germany has previously supported the WHO with approximately €290 million over 2024 and 2025, according to government figures.

The World Health Assembly brings together delegates from the WHO’s 194 member states and is the organization’s main decision-making body.

GNA

PDC