The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that the dramatic cuts of 2025 as the United States headed for the exit created the chance to build a leaner, re-focused WHO.

Washington, traditionally the UN health agency’s biggest donor, has slashed foreign aid spending under President Donald Trump, who on his first day back in office in January 2025 handed the WHO his country’s one-year notice of withdrawal.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the agency’s annual executive board meeting that 2025 was “undeniably one of the most difficult years in our organisation’s history”, with many donors tightening their belts.