US Withdraws from WHO: Freezing Recruitment and Restricting Travel

After United States President Trump (Donald Trump) announced the country’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), this global organization immediately faced financial strain, planning to take measures such as freezing recruitment, halting investments, and cutting non-essential travel to cope with the situation. WHO’s top officials stated that the U.S. withdrawal “has made our financial situation even more severe.”

On Thursday (January 23), the United Nations (UN) announced that the U.S. will officially exit the WHO on January 22, 2026. Just hours after being sworn in for his second term on Monday, Trump made the decision, citing WHO’s inadequate handling of pandemics and other international health crises and criticizing it for “always being a puppet of China (Chinese Communist Party).”

WHO released a statement on Tuesday expressing regret over the withdrawal of its largest donor country.

According to reports from Bloomberg and the news website Politico, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus sent an email to staff on January 23 outlining plans to freeze recruitment and reduce travel to address the exit of its biggest funder, the United States.

In the email, Tedros wrote, “As you know, the United States has announced its intention to withdraw from WHO. We regret this decision and hope the new government will reconsider.”

He added, “This announcement has made our financial situation more challenging, and we know it has caused massive concern and uncertainty among WHO staff.”

As a result, WHO is “freezing recruitment, excluding key areas,” and “significantly cutting travel expenses.” All meetings now must be conducted entirely online unless granted “special approval,” and special missions providing technical support to countries should be “limited to the most essential.”

Simultaneously, office renovation and expansion plans will be paused, along with related capital investments, unless they are related to safety, essential security, or cost reduction needs.

Tedros noted, “These measures are not exhaustive, and more measures will be announced in due course.”

The United States’ funding for WHO far exceeds donations from other countries, and experts warn that without this funding, the organization may be forced to restrict its operations. The U.S. contributes 16% to 18% of the overall budget. WHO’s planned budget for 2022-2023 is $6.7 billion, with most income going toward contract workers and staff salaries.

The organization’s budget for 2024-2025 is $6.8 billion, but it remains unclear whether the U.S. will continue to pay the related funds after its decision to exit. According to UN regulations, the U.S. must provide one year’s advance notice of its withdrawal from the WHO and continue to pay dues until the withdrawal is effective.

WHO has requested the new U.S. government to reconsider its decision to withdraw.

Meanwhile, other countries have also begun to mimic the actions of the U.S. government.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Salvini posted on social media platform X on Thursday, “This morning, the League submitted a bill proposing to exit the World Health Organization, following the lead of what Donald Trump did for the United States.

“Italy no longer needs to deal with a supranational power center funded heavily by Italian taxpayers and colluding with multinational pharmaceutical companies.

“Let us use this €100 million to support Italy’s patients, fund our hospitals and doctors!”

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), a spokesperson for Italian Prime Minister Meloni stated that she has not expressed her stance on the matter.