The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) is transferring the majority of its Geneva jobs to Rome, in the latest wave of upheaval to hit the city and longtime global health hub, as UN agencies scramble to respond to international aid cuts and save money.

A UNICEF spokeperson confirmed on Friday that some 290 jobs would be transferred to the Italian capital, for cost-savings purposes, while about 70-100 posts would remain in Geneva. Meanwhile, approximately 70% of UNICEF staff in its headquarters in New York City will also be relocated to lower-cost duty stations, including Nairobi, UNICEF said in a statement earlier this week.  New York City, will, however, remain UNICEF’s global headquarters, with staff levels hovering between 350-500, the spokesman confirmed on Friday.

“UNICEF will continue to have a solid presence in Geneva, including through its emergency humanitarian operations, the Giga initiative (connecting every school to the internet), and some specific programme and private sector partnerships functions,” the spokeperson said.

The agency, which protects children’s rights and provides aid in over 190 countries and territories, projects a 20% reduction in its income over the next four years compared with 2024 levels as a result of dwindling funding that began before 2025 but was catalysed by United States president Donald Trump’s drastic aid cuts after taking office in January.

United States has remained a UNICEF partner, despite funding cuts

Despite funding cuts to the organization, approved by Congress in July, the US has remained a partner with UNICEF both as a member state and as a key donor.  UNICEF USA, a non-profit NGO is also active in fundraising for the UN agency’s global mission.

The UNICEF announcement follows on reports earlier this week that the World Health Organization will shed about a quarter of its global workforce, around 2371 jobs, by next summer. Despite the dramatic cuts, the global health agency still faces a $1.05 billion budget gap for its 2026-27 biennium year.  The WHO reductions follow on the January withdrawal from the organization of the US, historically the agency’s largest donor.

“As you know, this year has been one of the most difficult in WHO’s history, as we have navigated a painful but necessary process of prioritization and realignment that has resulted in a significant reduction in our global workforce,” said WHO’s Director General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a message to WHO staff, announcing the cutbacks on Monday evening.

See related story:

EXCLUSIVE: WHO Cutting Up to 25% of Staff by June 2026 – But ‘Shadow Workforce of Consultants’ Is Unreported  

Other health organisations feel the pressure

Some of the city’s other leading global health agencies, including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis, and Malaria have also announced major overhauls as donors pull back on their commitments. Both groups have warned of the serious repercussions cuts will have on their work saving lives and on hard-won gains fighting infectious diseases.

Gavi staff at its Geneva headquarters are understood to be anticipating a second round of redundancies after launching a transformation plan at the end of October, which announces a 33 per cent and 40 per cent reduction in full-time and non full-time roles at its secretariat over the next four years. This year, the health group has already eliminated 155 full-time jobs in Geneva after a decision to reduce its global workforce by 24 per cent.

UNAIDS, meanwhile, has cut about relocated all but 19 of its 127 staff at its Geneva headquarters to Nairobia well as reducing the number of country offices from 85 to 54 and cutting about one-half of its staff worldwide to about 300. The agency’s leadership is, however,  pushing back against a proposal by UN Secretary General  António Guterres to shut down the agency by end 2026 as part of a UN80 reform plan.

Note: Includes updates and excerpts from a 20 November article in Geneva Solutions by Kasmira Jefford.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, UNICEF.