WHO Faces $1.7B Shortfall After US Exit Forces Budget Cuts

• May 28, 2025

The World Health Organization is facing a $1.7 billion funding gap for its 2026–2027 budget, even after reducing its financial target and receiving new donor pledges. The shortfall follows the formal withdrawal of the United States, historically the agency's largest donor.

At the close of its annual World Health Assembly on Tuesday, the WHO confirmed that its 2026–2027 budget had been trimmed from $5.3 billion to $4.2 billion. This comes after an earlier reduction from the $6.8 billion budget allocated for the 2024–2025 cycle. Member states approved the new, smaller budget during the assembly, which acts as the WHO’s key decision-making platform.

Funding challenges for the WHO are not new. Originally funded through mandatory membership fees known as “assessed contributions,” the agency has gradually come to depend on “voluntary contributions” that are often earmarked for specific projects. By 2020–2021, only 16 percent of its programme budget came from assessed contributions. Much of the remainder came from a few large donors, including the United States.

In a move to stabilise its finances, WHO member states agreed in 2022 to increase assessed contributions to cover 50 percent of the agency’s core budget by 2030–2031. As part of this effort, countries have already approved two rounds of 20 percent fee increases, including one at this year’s assembly. These increases are expected to raise an additional $90 million per year.

Despite these steps, the WHO remains far from closing its funding gap. “We have now secured 60 percent of our base budget for 2026–2027; a remarkable result in today’s financial climate,” said Hanan Balkhy, WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean regional director.

Additional support has come from donors pledging $210 million for the 2025–2028 investment round. This includes $80 million from Switzerland, $57 million from the Novo Nordisk Foundation, $13.5 million from Sweden, and $6 million from Qatar.

The US withdrawal has had a deep impact. The Biden administration, under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., did not attend the assembly and criticized the WHO as being ineffective and overly influenced by China, pharmaceutical companies, and gender ideology. Kennedy called on other nations to consider forming alternative institutions.

The WHO has begun restructuring to cope with the loss of funding. Its executive management team will be cut from 14 to seven members, and the number of departments will be reduced from 76 to 34. While no large-scale layoffs have been announced, the agency is bracing for further changes as it adjusts to its new financial reality.