“The United States will not be making any payments to the WHO before our withdrawal on January 22, 2026,” the spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement. “The burden on the US taxpayer and the US economy after the WHO’s failures during the COVID pandemic—and since—has already been too great. We will make certain that no additional US funds are directed to this organization.”
Additionally, the US had pledged $490 million in voluntary contributions for those two years. That funding was intended for efforts such as the WHO’s health emergency program, tuberculosis control, and polio eradication, Stat reports. Two anonymous sources told Stat that some of those funds were disbursed, but they could not estimate the amount.
The loss of both past and future US financial support has been a severe blow to the WHO. Immediately after receiving notice last January, the WHO began cutting costs. Measures included a hiring freeze, tighter travel budgets, shifting all meetings online, delaying IT equipment upgrades, and halting office refurbishments. The agency also started reducing staff and leaving vacancies unfilled. According to Stat, WHO staffing is on track to decline by 22 percent by midyear.
At a recent press conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called the US withdrawal a “lose-lose situation” for both the United States and the rest of the world. The US will forfeit access to infectious-disease intelligence and influence over outbreak responses, weakening global health security overall. “I hope they will reconsider,” Tedros said.
