<p>Geneva: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/world-health-organisation">World Health Organisation</a> (WHO) has started a process of fixing new priorities and announced a one-year limit on staff contracts, an internal memo showed on Tuesday, as it aims to make the UN agency more sustainable after the US withdrawal.</p><p>The memo, dated March 10 and signed by WHO's Assistant Director-General Raul Thomas, laid out further cost-cutting measures - the latest in a series of such steps since US President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>'s announcement in January.</p><p>Senior WHO officials have begun "prioritisation" work over the past three weeks to make the global health agency sustainable, the document says.</p><p>"While operating in an extremely fluid environment, WHO’s senior management are working to navigate these shifting tides by undertaking a prioritisation process," the memo said.</p>.Only seven countries met WHO air quality standards in 2024, data shows.<p>"Their work will ensure that every resource is directed toward the most pressing priorities while preserving WHO's ability to make a lasting impact," it said.</p><p>It added that staff are working to secure additional funding from countries, private donors and philanthropists, without saying if these processes had been successful.</p><p>It stopped short of announcing immediate staff cuts but said that "given the magnitude of the challenges we face, some difficult decisions are unavoidable."</p><p>A WHO spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>
<p>Geneva: The <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/world-health-organisation">World Health Organisation</a> (WHO) has started a process of fixing new priorities and announced a one-year limit on staff contracts, an internal memo showed on Tuesday, as it aims to make the UN agency more sustainable after the US withdrawal.</p><p>The memo, dated March 10 and signed by WHO's Assistant Director-General Raul Thomas, laid out further cost-cutting measures - the latest in a series of such steps since US President <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/tags/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a>'s announcement in January.</p><p>Senior WHO officials have begun "prioritisation" work over the past three weeks to make the global health agency sustainable, the document says.</p><p>"While operating in an extremely fluid environment, WHO’s senior management are working to navigate these shifting tides by undertaking a prioritisation process," the memo said.</p>.Only seven countries met WHO air quality standards in 2024, data shows.<p>"Their work will ensure that every resource is directed toward the most pressing priorities while preserving WHO's ability to make a lasting impact," it said.</p><p>It added that staff are working to secure additional funding from countries, private donors and philanthropists, without saying if these processes had been successful.</p><p>It stopped short of announcing immediate staff cuts but said that "given the magnitude of the challenges we face, some difficult decisions are unavoidable."</p><p>A WHO spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p>