The World Health Organisation (WHO) is offering options of voluntary retirement to its employees as part of measures to cut costs. This move comes in the wake of the decision by Donald Trump, President of the United States, to pull the country from the organisation, according to an internal memo referenced in a Bloomberg News report on Friday.
The memo, which was circulated among WHO staff, suggests that the U.S. exit has financial implications that are prompting the organisation to explore cost-saving measures.
The health body offered four months’ pay to staffers who will be 55 or older by June and that those who accept would have to leave the agency by July 15.
Trump started a 12-month withdrawal process for the U.S. to leave the WHO in January. The agency initiated cost-saving measures, including cutting travel expenditure and halting recruitment, after the U.S. moved to withdraw.
The United States is the WHO’s biggest government donor, contributing around 18% of its overall funding.
Trump, in his inaugural speech, announced that he is withdrawing the U.S.from the health body. He cited the WHo’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states,” as reasons for the U.S. withdrawal.
Trump said the WHO had failed to act independently from the “inappropriate political influence of WHO member states” and required “unfairly onerous payments” from the U.S. that are disproportionate to the sums provided by other, larger countries, such as China.
(BusinessDay)
