Nearly 2,400 staff of the World Health Organization (WHO) are expected to leave by mid-2026 as the agency reels from the U.S. funding withdrawal, forcing major workforce reductions and organizational reforms.
The US withdrew from the agency in January upon President Donald Trump taking office, prompting WHO to scale back some operations and reduce its management team by half. Washington has historically been WHO’s largest financial backer, contributing roughly 18% of its overall funding.
The Geneva-based organization projects its workforce will decline by 2,371 posts by June 2026, down from 9,401 in January 2025, due to a combination of job cuts, retirements, and voluntary departures, according to a presentation scheduled for its member states on Wednesday.
These figures do not include temporary staff and consultants, many of whom have already been made redundant. A WHO spokesperson confirmed the total number of staff leaving and said the overall reduction could reach 22%, depending on how many vacant posts are filled.
While hundreds of staff had departed earlier in the year, this is the first time WHO has provided a full estimate of the expected workforce reduction.
In a message to staff on Tuesday, Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus said, “This year has been one of the most difficult in WHO’s history, as we have navigated a painful but necessary process of prioritisation and realignment that has resulted in a significant reduction in our global workforce”.
“We are now preparing to move forward with our reshaped and renewed organization”, he added.
The slides also revealed a $1.06 billion shortfall in WHO’s 2026-2027 budget, nearly a quarter of the total required, down from an estimated gap of $1.7 billion in May.
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