The World Health Organization chief said Tuesday that operations and jobs would be slashed as US funding cuts had left the UN agency with a budget hole of several hundred million dollars.

"The sudden drop in income has left us with a large salary gap and no choice but to reduce the scale of our work and workforce," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told member states, according to a transcript of his remarks.

The United Nations health agency has been bracing for President Donald Trump's planned full withdrawal of the United States -- by far its largest donor -- next January.

The United States gave WHO $1.3 billion for its 2022-2023 budget, mainly through voluntary contributions for specific projects rather than fixed membership fees.

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