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Wednesday, 14 May 2025
WHO Director-General’s opening remarks at the 42nd meeting of the Programme, Budget and Administration Committee of the Executive Board – 14 May 2025
[https://www.who.int/director-general/speeches/detail/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-42nd-meeting-of-the-programme–budget-and-administration-committee-of-the-executive-board—14-may-2025]
Chair Dr Cathrine Lofthus,
Vice-Chair Dr Ibrahima Sy,
Members of the PBAC,
Dear colleagues and friends,
Good morning, welcome back to WHO, and thank you for joining us today.
Every PBAC meeting, every Executive Board meeting and every World Health Assembly is significant, but this year, they feel especially so.
Next week, Member States will consider two major agenda items that are of huge importance both now and for the future of WHO and its work.
First, the Pandemic Agreement.
I thank Member States for your commitment to negotiating this landmark Agreement over the past three-and-a-half years, and for the spirit of collaboration in which you worked.
You have sent a powerful message that multilateralism is alive and kicking, and that in these divided times, countries can still find a way to find common ground. You are making history.
The second major item on next week’s agenda – and on yours this week – is of course the Programme Budget, including the next increase in assessed contributions.
Once again, I thank Member States for the historic commitment you made in 2022 to progressively increase assessed contributions to 50% of the budget.
Already, the first increase has made a huge difference.
If it had not happened, our current financial situation would be much worse – US$ 300 million worse.
It is essential, therefore, that Member States approve this next increase, to make another step towards securing the long-term financial sustainability and independence of WHO.
Still, the loss of U.S. funding, combined with reductions in official development assistance by some other countries, mean we are facing a salary gap for the next biennium of more than US$ 500 million.
As you know, we have proposed a reduced budget of US$ 4.2 billion for the 2026-2027 biennium – a 21% reduction on the original proposed budget of US$ 5.3 billion.
You approved US$ 4.9 billion, but we thought that would still be significantly high for the current reality. That’s why we revised it to US 4.2 billion.
Thanks to the Investment Round, and assuming Member States approve the increase in assessed contributions, we are confident that we have already secured more than US$ 2.6 billion, or 60 percent of the funding for the next biennium, 2026-2027.
That leaves an anticipated budget gap of more than US$ 1.7 billion.
We know that in the current landscape, mobilizing that sum will be a challenge. But we think it is a challenge we can meet.
On that note, I remind you of the Investment Round event on the 20th of May, during the Health Assembly.
Some Member States have suggested that the US$ 4.2 billion budget may be too ambitious, given the current landscape for resource mobilization.
We understand that point, but US$ 4.2 billion dollars – or US$ 2.1 billion a year – is not ambitious.
For an organization working on the ground in more than 150 countries, with the mandate and mission that Member States have given us, an annual budget of US$ 2.1 billion dollars is very modest, to say the least.
At current exchange rates, the HUG hospital here in Geneva operates on the same budget – slightly larger than WHO, in fact.
How can WHO be expected to serve the whole world on the same budget as one hospital in a mid-sized European city?
Especially at a time when many countries are facing severe disruptions to health services due to a sudden and sharp drop in official development assistance.
We see people missing life-saving treatment, increased out-of-pocket health spending, closures of health facilities and job losses for health workers.
These countries – and their people – need a strong WHO now more than ever. I hope you agree with me.
And yet, our reduced budget means we will not be able to support them to the extent they need.
Already, a US$ 4.2 billion budget means some extremely difficult choices for the Secretariat.
As you know, we have been engaging in a major structural realignment, guided by an in-depth analysis of priorities, and trying to use the current crisis as an opportunity for the Organization.
We have also been exploring cost-saving measures including relocating some functions, offering early retirement to eligible staff, and shrinking our footprint.
We expect these measures will produce more than US$ 165 million in savings by the end of the year.
I also met recently with the heads of 12 of our sister agencies and global health initiatives, to discuss how we can work together better to realize synergies.
This includes sharing information on country gaps and priorities, identifying key countries for joint support, and taking steps to refine roles and mechanisms to coordinate support.
And just last week I met with the UN Secretary-General and heads of other UN agencies to discuss how to adapt our multilateral institutions to new realities, by leveraging the strategic shifts envisioned by the UN80 initiative.
In short, we are leaving no stone unturned in our efforts to improve cost efficiency.
But even so, the hard truth is that we need to reduce salary expenditures by 25%.
That does not mean that we necessarily cut 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.
In order to support staff during this difficult period, we have introduced a range of support mechanisms, and we are committed to supporting the mental health and well-being of all our colleagues.
We anticipate that the most significant staff reductions will be at headquarters, while regional offices will also be affected to varying degrees.
The prioritization exercise has informed the development of a new streamlined structure for headquarters, which I announced last month, as you remember.
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.
This morning, I am pleased to announce the makeup of our new executive management team, which will take effect from the 16th of June.
Dr Jeremy Farrar will become Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention and Control;
Dr Yukiko Nakatani will become Assistant Director-General for Health Systems;
Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu will become executive director of the Health Emergencies Programme;
Dr Sylvie Briand will become Chief Scientist;
Dr Razia Pendse will remain Chef de Cabinet;
And Mr Raul Thomas will remain Assistant Director-General for Business Operations and Compliance.
The new team has been chosen after very careful consideration, and to ensure gender balance and geographical representation.
This was, as you can imagine, an extremely difficult and painful decision for me, as it is for every manager in our organization who is having to decide who stays, and who goes.
I thank the outgoing members of our senior leadership team for their dedication, leadership and service. I wish them every success in the next chapter of their lives and careers.
I am confident that this new team, under the restructured organization, is best positioned to now guide WHO as we face the challenges of the coming years.
Decisions about which directors will lead which departments will be made following the World Health Assembly. That, I know, will also be tough, given the downsizing from 76 to 34 departments.
I emphasize that our focus on strengthening our country offices is unchanged, although we do plan to close some offices in high-income countries that no longer need in-country support.
But let’s be clear: reducing the scale of our workforce means reducing the scale and scope of our work, and where necessary, adjusting the targets of the 14th General Programme of Work.
That, I think, also means difficult choices for you, our Member States, because each of you, and rightly so, have your own needs and priorities.
But to be blunt, we cannot do everything.
Time and again, Member States have emphasized the importance of maintaining our focus on core functions.
We therefore seek your support in refraining from adding more work at a time when we are scaling down to ensure we deliver on those core functions.
Of course, we will continue to seek your input and support as we make this transition over the coming weeks and months.
I particularly thank our Chair, Dr Cathrine Lofthus, for her work to improve the governance and efficiency of this committee. It has already made a real difference. Thank you, Madam Chair.
I also thank her and the Chair of the Executive Board for their leadership in finalizing a process to manage potential allegations against Directors-General. Accountability is very important.
I look forward to your consideration of that and other important agenda items, including our work to strengthen accountability systems including investigation, audit, evaluation, ethics, and risk management.
Thank you all once again for your engagement in this committee, and your commitment to building a stronger WHO, and as always, for your guidance.
I thank you.
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