WHO chief asks countries to push Washington to reconsider its withdrawal

The World Health Organization chief urged global leaders to pressure the US to reverse President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the UN health agency. In a private meeting with diplomats last week, he insisted that the US will lose access to vital information about global disease outbreaks.

At a budget meeting, countries questioned how WHO would handle the exit of its largest donor. Internal meeting documents reveal that the US contributes an estimated $988 million – roughly 14 percent – of WHO’s $6.9 billion budget for 2024-2025. A German envoy warned, “The roof is on fire, and we need to stop the fire as soon as possible.”

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WHO’s health emergencies program heavily relies on US funding, with readiness functions in its Europe office over 80 percent reliant on the $154 million US contribution. US funding supports up to 40 percent of WHO’s large-scale emergency operations. Responses in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan are at risk, along with hundreds of millions of dollars for polio eradication and HIV programs. The US also funds 95 percent of WHO’s tuberculosis work in Europe and over 60 percent of TB efforts in Africa, the Western Pacific, and WHO headquarters in Geneva.

At a separate meeting on the US exit’s impact, WHO finance director George Kyriacou stated that at the current spending rate, the organization would face a “hand-to-mouth” situation by the first half of 2026. He added that the current spending level is unsustainable. Since Trump’s executive order, WHO has tried to withdraw funds from the US for past expenses, but most requests have been denied. The US also hasn’t paid its 2024 contributions, pushing the agency into a deficit.

WHO’s executive board is expected to discuss budget issues during its session from Monday through February 11. Last week, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials were instructed to cease collaboration with WHO. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the agency still provides some data to US scientists, urging member countries to lobby US officials to reconsider the withdrawal.

WHO is currently addressing Marburg virus outbreaks in Tanzania, Ebola in Uganda, and mpox in Congo. Tedros refuted Trump’s reasons for leaving–WHO’s alleged mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, failure to reform, and unfair US payment requirements. He said WHO warned the world about the coronavirus in January 2020 and has implemented numerous reforms, including expanding its donor base. He believes the US withdrawal isn’t about money but access to outbreak information and other crucial health data.

A German health ministry advisor called the US exit WHO’s biggest crisis in decades, questioning which WHO functions would collapse without US funding. Officials from Bangladesh and France inquired about WHO’s plans to cope with the funding loss and potential program cuts. An internal WHO document outlines options, including halving major departments by year-end.

Experts acknowledge the crisis while suggesting it could reshape global public health. Less than one percent of the US health budget goes to WHO, yielding substantial benefits for the US, including intelligence on disease epidemics and virus samples for vaccines. WHO is considered massively underfunded. WHO’s emergencies chief stated that while the US exit is detrimental, member states can fill the gaps.

One expert doubted the US could replicate WHO’s global health threat intelligence gathering, predicting worse health outcomes for Americans, though the extent remains uncertain.