APRIL 10, 2025 BY ANDREW GREEN <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0y_yO-D6ziAMfsp8_V4Cuvwl5qOyCnlgWuiQsQgEtOHRM1is_Lj7lLfEUevqYHeP8s=> How do you solve a problem like the World Health Organization <https://t.devex.com/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W79SdsMKQ1zB1rVD9pijTqm5nEfci_mL5GZQ5sD_QR5-3ZrYBkjw6vKImpRA-xufY2s=> ?
It depends on what problem you’re talking about *because the agency has plenty*, as my colleague Jenny Lei Ravelo reports. WHO remains top-heavy and overly reliant on a handful of donors while continuing to face growing allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse. [image: A logo is pictured at the World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.] <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POpCphgeXlcwK-5u_CbLr-mNf3m_ZzQd8Rit6uQQ3xp3gb4IIWY_k2ULDX-zK9UeXvchUgNn-P_LTDP2-hTsJfPwRi51lzxekscHAXNOiTODP-8RbUuwj5x2P684MUEAYwp5O6TrWI1dQo2Qovq8J21W-GgJwUQ1n0ye8slJN713CUjNfzQJdsUQFo5kXnXHxxwAgWbNLBY_kDL5amFb_RDWBQ_4ryZj9TC0Duhy4dSZ5pDwlTmGQ4gPDQ5S6sxrHJw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=> This is despite specific attempts to address the horrific problem of harassment and abuse, alongside broader reform efforts <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POpCphgeXlcwK-5u_CbLr-mNf3m_ZzQd8Rit6uQQ3xp3gb4IIWY_k2ULDX-zK9UeXvchUgNn-P_LTDP2-hTsJfPwRi51lzxekscHAXNOiTODP-8RbUuwj5x2P684MUEAYwp5O6TrWI1dQo2Qovq8J21W-GgJwUQ1n0ye8slJN713CUjNfzQJdsUQFo5kXnXHxxwAgWbNLBY_kDL5amFb_RDWBQ_4ryZj9TC0Duhy4dSZ55S9Smm3Fpm7XsKGgxM2DMg==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=> that include revamping WHO’s organizational infrastructure, strengthening its country offices, and *pursuing nearly 100 reforms* focused on transparency, efficiency, and effectiveness. There’s no doubt that *funding remains a huge — if not the biggest — problem*. For its investment round that ends in May 2025, WHO has so far raised nearly $1.7 billion. Even with other funding sources, this is still far from the $7.1 billion the agency was looking for. The unprecedented fundraising effort was launched to give WHO more flexibility and to free it from the priorities of specific donors and the accusations, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump, that the organization lacks any independence <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkJRuuo_nSES7kdX0u3PHyKGKAUR9spanvK3crD1u3FfAiIctV_K0-7xVx1VLMFDrsUxqK8CKFwbczMkhSGiTeEUlx5_qu7kBI9XOSKWYeTuLszbqUJbxIuXXbC3MCKOGfrYSmPPG_AXC0zszBBOtSCJyN-h6hMNUNrlBGPd_-Gpa7cxlWJSCyey4oVltXoe456fBH7zwjitrmSBMkIJI6I7TkhUgQ47_5tpJyRrPqnd4q8ICmTCTCnvktG1KWxbfQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=>. Whether the initiative will actually succeed remains to be seen. But consider that the U.S. withdrawal from the agency leaves it facing a $600 million shortfall this year <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POl-FoiiyyrRTFjOma1DZq73bNrqSaYGug0wE_BJa_2y6z-p6peyhVWVxCj_5XCGRNKrObi77MAYpA0F6gUF5h-hhC2m9xvo4SyNTbHekkcKOb7mAovt4LR6kfFx-Usr7OqJrziM7VzwHepk5ODyjBtktHRkgAtkvDgChulLRuK29UP3JBUut5OVrq3nK96ktStQzJX44VV14YLNyUWpa_C9FbTw5njB7ces_cpXdhnfTCv_lX-8x6K9rPrk0ivsvMQ==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=>, even as Trump continues to accuse WHO of being a Chinese puppet. *Staff reforms could possibly help to reduce this crisis*, particularly if the agency could get rid of underperforming people who have stuck around too long. There is a push to reduce an expanding number of high-level officials, while focusing on strengthening local and regional offices in line with localization goals. But all of that is easier said than done in the bureaucracy of a U.N. agency. The agency has allocated the largest portion of its flexible funding to its country offices — a signal of how seriously it takes the goal of localization. Meanwhile, the ongoing allegations of sexual abuse and harassment *continue to chip away at the integrity of the organization*. Agency officials stress that they are taking these issues seriously and that an increase in reported cases of harassment and abuse of authority “is a good thing in itself” because it shows increased staff confidence in the system. But even their own staff are demanding more. In a perverse way, the withdrawal of the United States from WHO <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POjbW6rOsZ37Uc-AtgCDeIvcHjB_B-lIJnDIvAvttGK1NM9IV_oBFSGgxTvxAQveAIHB08lJMw2XeUi2FSmQrs_hDNsQ0I1TYl-DqAl-Pjz-suWdLRR9rn6Nr_idB4wj-JNXGZiS3oZ7zoV44FBCt_mWOiTmGcQAWtJJR1GJRR1vOGuG7z14-Bv8ODbT61ybjL4JrTBVjMPWf5HFEbNFRGrQ=/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=> will force the institution to confront many of these issues, particularly the questions around funding. But the future of the organization *is still very much up in the air*. *Read:* Inside WHO’s reforms — progress, failures, and unfinished business <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POpCphgeXlcwK-5u_CbLr-mNf3m_ZzQd8Rit6uQQ3xp3gb4IIWY_k2ULDX-zK9UeXvchUgNn-P_LTDP2-hTsJfPwRi51lzxekscHAXNOiTODP-8RbUuwj5x2P684MUEAYwp5O6TrWI1dQo2Qovq8J21W-GgJwUQ1n0ye8slJN713CUjNfzQJdsUQFo5kXnXHxxwAgWbNLBY_kDL5amFb_RDWBQ_4ryZj9TC0Duhy4dSZ5sztfWDFfVywHXf5XAb2iIw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=> *Background reading:* Tedros refutes Trump’s claims of WHO’s lack of independence <https://t.devex.com/dc/kyXVoDpAY__Vu56MNr4POkJRuuo_nSES7kdX0u3PHyKGKAUR9spanvK3crD1u3FfAiIctV_K0-7xVx1VLMFDrsUxqK8CKFwbczMkhSGiTeEUlx5_qu7kBI9XOSKWYeTuLszbqUJbxIuXXbC3MCKOGfrYSmPPG_AXC0zszBBOtSCJyN-h6hMNUNrlBGPd_-Gpa7cxlWJSCyey4oVltXoe456fBH7zwjitrmSBMkIJI6JvfH0HJD8JKdljeyweu-MB4l2phNucBUv4PDgrsMJtQw==/Njg1LUtCTC03NjUAAAGZvt84W0RWwwFxvLtf3OHU8ltS6yueLibKWc4WPUV1bxfnfUnumk9nTe8Mf8cazgOcIiM0uHY=>
