In response, the WHO is “freezing recruitment, except in the most critical areas” and “significantly reducing travel expenditure.” All meetings must now be fully virtual unless in exceptional circumstances, and missions to provide technical support to countries should be “limited to the most essential.”
Other measures include limits to the replacement of IT equipment, a renegotiation of major contracts, and a suspension of office refurbishments and capital investments, unless needed for security or cost-cutting.
“This set of measures is not comprehensive, and more will be announced in due course,” the email added. “I thank those staff who have already sent suggestions for mobilizing resources and further improving our efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and I invite all staff to do the same.”
Global health consultant Fifa Rahman told POLITICO the budget cuts were a “massive own goal for an increasingly isolated United States” and leave it more vulnerable to future outbreaks. “They already had massive problems with disinformation during the last pandemic — without the WHO they will need copious amounts of luck in the next one,” she said.
Meanwhile, far-right Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said on Thursday he had also proposed a law to pull Italy out of the WHO. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she did not have a position yet, AFP reported.
dasnoob on January 24th, 2025 at 15:53 UTC »
"All meetings must now be fully virtual unless in exceptional circumstances, and missions to provide technical support to countries should be “limited to the most essential.”
Other measures include limits to the replacement of IT equipment, a renegotiation of major contracts, and a suspension of office refurbishments and capital investments, unless needed for security or cost-cutting."
Were they that dependent on US funding to operate?
Also... how much travel for meetings are we talking? Most businesses have realized virtual meetings are preferred because of cost savings and the fact there is virtually no different in how much gets done. Were they really flying people all over the world for meetings?
thisisntnamman on January 24th, 2025 at 15:45 UTC »
Don’t worry. China will happily step in a fill the funding and leadership gap the U.S. is leaving across the globe. Of course it will have the requisite pro-CCP strings and all.
hooblyshoobly on January 24th, 2025 at 14:17 UTC »
A lot of people in this post sure know the exact way the WHO is controlled.. they must all work there surely! Surely they're not just regurgitating what Trump said... right? Imagine Trump saying any organisation mismanaged the pandemic, when he was telling people to take animal wormer, suggesting injecting bleach or somehow getting 'light inside the body'. He undersold it from the very start saying they had no cases, then a few but it will be gone in a week or so... boom. 1.2 million deaths.