Geneva-based WHO to lay off 1,282 staff worldwide
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Geneva-based WHO to lay off 1,282 staff worldwide
The World Health Organisation (WHO) is to shed 1,282 staff worldwide by June 2026 as a result of budget cuts in the United States and other countries.
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More than 1,000 additional positions will be eliminated through natural attrition, retirement and early retirement, said the Geneva-based organisation.
The most essential functions have been identified and “the financial and human resources” aligned with them, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told member states.
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Each office has been given a budget to which it has had to adapt, he said, while the number of departments has been halved, as has the number of members of the management.
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As he had already announced, travel has been limited and equipment has not been replaced. “Without this approach, we estimate that we would have had to shed around 2,900 employees”, insisted the CEO.
More than 1,080 staff will not be replaced due to retirement or short contracts coming to an end. And the increase in compulsory contributions decided by the member states has saved around 600 jobs.
For those made redundant, support has been offered on issues such as parental leave, repatriation and travel costs. Support is given to particularly vulnerable people. All these measures have “positioned our organisation for future success”, said the CEO. He added, however, that the organisation still needed to find a billion dollars between now and 2027.
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Translated from French by DeepL/mga
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