The World Health Organization (WHO) has begun a major structural downsizing of its workforce, cutting departments and leadership as part of efforts to align with its newly revised budget for the 2026–2027 biennium.
Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus disclosed the changes in a statement on Wednesday, describing the difficult decisions ahead.
This follows WHO’s recent announcement of a 21% cut to its proposed budget, from US$5.3 billion to US$4.2 billion, amid declining donor contributions and global financial constraints.
To ensure sustainability under the tighter budget, WHO is undertaking sweeping structural reforms, including reducing the number of departments, slashing senior management positions, and cutting salary expenditures by 25%.
Painful impact of financial constraints
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted that the most painful decision involves reducing salary expenditures by 25%.
“The hard truth is that we need to reduce salary expenditures by 25%.
“That does not mean cutting 25% of staff across the organization but make no mistake: we are saying goodbye to a significant number of highly experienced, capable, and dedicated members of our workforce. That means careers interrupted and lives disrupted,” Ghebreyesus said.
He added, “We anticipate that the most significant staff reductions will be at headquarters, while regional offices will also be affected to varying degrees.
Dr. Ghebreyesus gave further details on the number of senior management roles that would be reduced, likewise the number of departments, especially at the organization’s headquarters.
“The prioritization exercise has informed the development of a new streamlined structure for headquarters, which I announced last month, as you may recall. The new structure reduces senior management from 14 to 7, and the number of departments from 76 to 34.
“The regional offices are finalizing their structures, which are aligned with headquarters,” he said.
Prioritizing essential functions and cost efficiency
Ghebreyesus acknowledged that the reduced budget would demand difficult decisions within the organization’s Secretariat.
He said WHO is undergoing a major structural undergoing a major structural realignment to prioritize essential functions and improve cost efficiency.
“We have been exploring cost-saving measures, including relocating some functions, offering early retirement to eligible staff, and shrinking our footprint.
“We expect these measures will generate over US$165 million in savings by the end of the year.”
To support staff during this difficult period, he said WHO has introduced a range of support mechanisms and remains committed to the mental health and well-being of all colleagues.
Announcing the new executive management team
Dr. Tedros announced the new executive management team, effective June 16:
- Dr. Jeremy Farrar — Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Control
- Dr. Yukiko Nakatani — Assistant Director-General for Health Systems
- Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu — Executive Director of the Health Emergencies Programme
- Dr. Sylvie Briand — Chief Scientist
- Dr. Razia Pendse — Chef de Cabinet
- Mr. Raul Thomas — Assistant Director-General for Business Operations and Compliance
“The new team has been chosen after very careful consideration to ensure gender balance and geographical representation. This was an extremely difficult and painful decision for me, as it is for every manager who had to decide who stays and who goes,” Dr. Tedros said.
He thanked outgoing senior leaders for their service and expressed confidence in the newly appointed executive team to guide WHO through its restructuring and financial realignment.
As the organization scales down its operations to align with a tighter budget, Dr. Tedros called for understanding and restraint from Member States, urging them to support WHO’s focus on core functions and not overburden the agency during this transition.
