Dr Mike Ryan dropped from WHO executive team after US funding cuts

Jennifer Rigby, Reuters

Dr Mike Ryan, the Irish epidemiologist who became synonymous with the global response to the Covid-19 pandemic, has been dropped from the new executive management team at the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The WHO has reduced its management team by half and will have to scale back operations, its director-general said on Wednesday, four months after the United States announced it was leaving the agency and cutting funding.

"To be blunt, we cannot do everything," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a budget committee meeting ahead of the body's annual meeting next week.

Dr Ryan was only appointed in April last year to the role of WHO deputy-director general.

The 60-year-old also served as executive director of WHO’s health emergencies programme, the largest department in the organisation, since 2019.

Dr Ryan has been managing health emergencies in WHO for the past 27 years, and most recently led WHO’s emergency response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Donald Trump said the US was leaving the agency on the first day of his return to office in January.

Under US law, a one-year notice period is required before the country, the biggest financial backer of the WHO, can leave, as well as the payment of all fees. That money is outstanding.

Tedros said the body and its member states must make difficult choices about what to prioritise, given a proposed 21 per cent cut in the budget for 2026-2027 to $4.2 billion (€3.75 billion).

Even that reduced budget will only be about 60 per cent funded, provided member states agree to raise their mandatory fees at the meeting next week, he said.

The WHO has already announced efficiency measures and hopes to save around $165 million (€147.3 million) this year.

It will also reduce the number of its departments to 34 from 76 and plans to cut staff costs by 25 per cent, Tedros said, although that did not mean 25 per cent of jobs would be cut.

"But let’s be clear: reducing the scale of our workforce means reducing the scale and scope of our work," he said, adding the organisation would close some offices in high-income countries.

Tedros said the WHO has had discussions with other global health groups to discuss better collaboration given the cuts.

The body's new leadership team of seven, including Tedros, is down from 14 people. As well as the departure of Dr Ryan, other changes include moving chief scientist Dr Jeremy Farrar into a role as assistant director-general for health promotion and disease prevention and control.

Dr Chikwe Ihekweazu will become executive director of the health emergencies programme, and Dr Sylvie Briand will be chief scientist.

The former WHO special envoy on Covid-19, Dr David Nabarro has paid tribute to Dr Ryan.

Dr Nabarro told RTÉ radio’s Today with Claire Byrne show that it had been a surprise to hear that “Mike Ryan is moving on.”

He said that Dr Ryan was “emblematic of global health and for him to be leaving is a bit of a shock. He is quite a unique person.

"He's not only technically brilliant, but he's also a man with heart and soul and it's that that most of us really love him for because whenever he's traveling, and I've travelled with him a lot in different countries, he always connects with the people he meets whoever they are and they feel better for it.

“He knows how to connect with people, especially if they're a bit embarrassed about being ill or they're worried about what's going to happen to their loved ones. Mike was the guy who would be able to just calm people and make them feel good because he's just such an authentic person.”

Dr Nabarro said he had exchanged texts with Dr Ryan about the WHO decision and that Dr Ryan had been “hugely modest” as always.

“I said what I believe, that this guy is incredible and extraordinary. And I know you in Ireland all realise he's a true son of Ireland, and he got this award from President Higgins recently, which was special."

Dr Nabarro said he did not know enough about the "inside issues" being faced by the WHO, however, he warned that taking away people like Dr Ryan “weakens the situation” especially in circumstances like the current crisis in Gaza.

“Mike does voice his opinions quite openly when he sees horrible things happening. But that shouldn't take away from the extraordinary contributions that he has made. And we don't want to lose too many of these people because of funding cuts, because they are so important to global health security.”

Additional reporting: Vivienne Clarke