“The United States will not make any payments to WHO prior to our withdrawal on January 22, 2026,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Cost [borne] This has been greatly overshadowed by the failure of WHO during and since the COVID pandemic, at the expense of American taxpayers and the American economy. We will ensure that no more American funds are sent to this organization.
In addition, the US also promised to provide $490 million in voluntary contributions for those two years. The funding would have been spent on efforts such as WHO’s health emergencies program, tuberculosis control and polio eradication efforts, according to the state report. Two anonymous sources told The State that some of that money was paid out, but they could not provide an estimate for how much.
The loss of both past and future financial support from the US is a major blow to WHO. Soon after the notification last January, WHO began cutting costs. These include a freeze on hiring, restricting travel expenses, making all meetings virtual, limiting IT equipment updates and suspending office renovations. The agency also began cutting staff and leaving positions vacant. According to the report, there is a possibility of a 22 percent reduction in WHO staff by the middle of this year.
In a recent press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the US withdrawal is a “lose-lose situation” for the US and the rest of the world. The US would lose access to infectious disease intelligence and control over outbreak responses, and global health security would be weakened overall. “I hope they will reconsider,” Tedros said.
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