WHO freezes hiring and resets priorities after US exit

The World Health Organization will cut costs and review which health programmes to prioritise after the U.S. announced its exit, its chief told staff in an internal memo seen by Reuters.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal on the first day of his second term on Monday, alleging that the global health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.

"This announcement has made our financial situation more acute...," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a memo to staff dated Jan. 23. It said that the agency planned to significantly reduce travel expenditure and halt recruitment as part of a series of cost-saving measures.


A WHO spokesperson confirmed the memo was authentic but declined to comment further.

The United Nations confirmed on Thursday that the U.S. was due to withdraw from the WHO on Jan. 22, 2026.

The United States is by far the WHO's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. WHO's most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.