Fund Cuts Caused Residents In 70 Countries To Lose Medical Care

WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (Wikimedia Commons/ITU Pictures)

JAKARTA - The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, people in at least 70 countries lost medical treatment due to cuts in funds for the aid program, adding the agency faced major financial challenges.

"Patients have lost treatment, health facilities have been closed, health workers have lost their jobs, and people are facing an increase in health spending from their own pockets," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech at the World Health Council.

Hundreds of WHO officials joined donors and diplomats in Geneva, Switzerland from Monday to discuss how to deal with crises ranging frommpoxes to pagodas without their main funder, the United States.

The WHO currently faces a $600 million hole in its annual budget and a 21 percent cut over the next two years.

As the United States prepares to leave the organization, China will become the largest state cost provider - one of the main streams of WHO funding alongside donations.

"Many ministers have told me that sudden and sharp cutting of bilateral aid causes severe disruption in their country, and endangers the health of millions of people," Tedros added.

He further said countries should consider spending more money on global health, as defense spending increases: "Countries spend a lot of money protecting themselves from attacks by other countries, but relatively little to protecting themselves from invisible enemies that can cause much greater damage."

The WHO itself has so far revised its budget to 4.2 billion dollars for the next two years - 2.1 billion per year.

"2.1 billion dollars is equivalent to global military spending every eight hours," Tedros told delegates.

He added that WHO had taken steps to cut its workforce, budget, and scope of work.

As previously reported, WHO announced a half-cut from its senior leadership team last week.