WHO Poised to Halve Divisions and Directors at Geneva Headquarters in Response to Budget Emergency

The number of WHO programme divisions would be reduced from 10 to just five and the number of directors in headquarters would shrink from nearly 80 to around 30 in an emergency reorganisation plan reviewed by the agency’s executive management group at a closed-door retreat on Saturday.   

The plan, to be presented to member states this week, also proposes to move some departments housed in Geneva to WHO’s Regional Offices, where costs are far less, or HQ outposts away from Geneva even if the operations remain associated with headquarters.