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Director General of WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during the opening of the 78th World Health Assembly at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 19, 2025. Photo: Magali Girardin/Keystone via AP
STRIPPED of funding from the United States, the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief today appealed to member countries to support its request for a $2.1 billion (£1.58bn) annual budget.
Describing the budget request as “extremely modest,” WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus compared the budget to the cost of war or the outlays for advertising campaigns for tobacco.
After nearly 80 years of striving to improve human lives and health, which critics say it has done poorly or not enough, the UN health agency is fighting for its existence after US President Donald Trump halted funding to the body in January.
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