President Donald Trump’s decision to exit the World Health Organization means the U.N. agency is losing its biggest funder. For the two-year budget ending in 2025, the U.S. is projected to be WHO’s largest single contributor by far. It is expected to donate $958 million, or nearly 15%, of the agency’s roughly $6.5 billion budget.
Most of the U.S.’s contribution — and most of WHO’s budget overall — is via voluntary contributions. WHO member countries are assessed membership fees based on a country’s gross domestic product. But countries and other groups can make voluntary contributions to WHO to spend on designated issues.
About 70% of WHO’s budget comes from these voluntary contributions, which makes it difficult for the agency to set its own public health priorities. In 2022, WHO member countries agreed to reform its financing model, aiming to make countries’ membership fees about half of its budget by 2030.
The WHO is the U.N.’s specialized health agency and is mandated to coordinate the world’s response to global health threats, including outbreaks of mpox, Ebola and polio. It also provides technical assistance to poorer countries, helps distribute scarce vaccines, supplies and treatments and sets guidelines for hundreds of health conditions, including mental health and cancer.
U.S. public health officials were told this week to stop working with the World Health Organization, effective immediately.
Here’s a list of WHO’s top donors:
U.S.: $958 million
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: $689 million
Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance: $500 million
European Commission: $412 million
World Bank: $268 million
Germany: $324 million
United Kingdom: $215 million
Canada: $141 million
European Investment Bank: $119 million
___
The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.