WHO to shed over 2,000 jobs by mid-2026, document shows

Source: Reuters

November 19, 2025 2:32 AM EST Updated 7 hours ago


GENEVA, Nov 18 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization said its workforce would shrink by nearly a quarter - or over 2,000 jobs - by the middle of next year as it seeks to implement reforms after its top donor, the United States, announced its departure.

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration withdrew from the body upon taking office in January, prompting the agency to scale back its work and cut its management team by half. Washington is by far the U.N. health agency's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding.

The Geneva-based WHO projects that its workforce will shrink by 2,371 posts by June 2026 from 9,401 in January 2025 due to job cuts as well as retirements and departures, according to a presentation set to be shown to its member states on Wednesday. It does not include all the temporary staff and consultants which U.N. sources say have been made redundant.

A WHO spokesperson confirmed the total number of staff leaving the organisation and said the workforce would shrink by up to 22%, depending on how many vacant posts are filled. While the global health agency said in August that hundreds of staff had departed, this is the first time it has given the full scale of the expected change to its global staff.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/who-lose-quarter-its-workforce-by-mid-2026-document-shows-2025-11-18/