Geneva, the longtime epicentre of humanitarian aid, peacemaking and diplomacy, is feeling the tremors of yet another wave of relocations and job cuts, from the UN children’s agency to the World Health Organization to Gavi.
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 multilateral hub, as UN agencies scramble to respond to international aid cuts and save money by moving to cheaper cities.
Media reports on Tuesday said that around 290 posts will be transferred to the sprawling Italian metropolis, leaving only some 100 in Geneva, where it currently shares offices with the International Labour Organization (ILO). However, a source close to the organisation told Geneva Solutions that the number of staff staying put is likely to be closer to 20, although this is still under discussion.
A Unicef spokesperson declined to comment on the number of posts remaining. In a statement late Wednesday, the agency said “approximately 70 per cent of staff currently in Geneva and in New York will be relocated to lower-cost duty stations”. This includes Nairobi, Kenya, where hundreds of staff from New York are already in the process of moving.
“We are committed to maintaining a presence in Geneva for global advocacy and coordination, and New York, which will continue to be our global headquarters,” a Unicef spokesperson said. Among some of the divisions currently in Geneva are private fundraising and partnerships, and its office responsible for emergency programmes – part of which will remain in the Swiss city.
In response to the move, a spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs stated in an email: “Switzerland will continue to support Unicef during this transition, notably through tailored subsidies for its workspaces, to ensure that Geneva remains an essential operational hub in service of humanitarian action.”
The Swiss Parliament has nevertheless decided to reduce the country’s annual contribution to UNICEF to CHF 13 million for 2025, down from 21 million between 2022 and 2024. The Confederation has also provided an additional CHF3m the for emergency programmes office.
According to an FDFA spokesperson, “its continued presence in Geneva confirms that the city remains a strategic pillar of international humanitarian coordination.”
Looking for a new home
The move to Rome is expected to take place in the summer of 2026, with Unicef employees understood to be moving into the World Food Programme’s (WFP) offices, where space will be freed up as the agency makes drastic job cuts of its own.
As for its reduced team in Geneva, Unicef is understood to be scouting for new locations to rent, including the International Environment House in Vernier, home to the UN Environment Programme and other NGOs, after recently paying a visit.
Unicef also runs the Giga project, a joint initiative with the International Telecommunication Union that aims to connect every school to the internet by 2030. Its small team based at the Campus Biotech is not believed to be affected by the decision.
The agency, which protects children’s rights and provides aid in over 190 countries and territories, projects a 20 per cent 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 US president Donald Trump’s drastic aid cuts on taking office in January this year.
In response to these stark realities, Unicef plans to reduce headquarters and regional budgets by 25 per cent, relocating staff and consolidating its offices worldwide, saving roughly half a billion dollars between 2026-2029.
In May, the agency announced Amman, in Jordan, would become its regional office for Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, while Bangkok in Thailand would serve as its regional hub for South and East Asia, and the Pacific.
UN health agency to lose 800 Geneva jobs
News of the relocations is the latest in a wave of restructurings and job cuts hitting international Geneva amid a decline in global aid that has left almost no international organisations or NGO untouched.
A report released by the World Health Organization this week confirmed that the global health body will shed nearly a quarter of its global workforce – around 2,371 jobs – by next summer, from 9,457 in December 2024 as it struggles to shore up a $1.05bn funding gap for its 2026-2027 budget. At its Geneva headquarters, 272 jobs have already been eliminated and another 533 are expected to follow suit.
Other UN agencies, including the International Labour Organization, the International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency, have also let go of thousands of jobs, while relocating hundreds to other cities across Africa, Asia and Europe.
Other health organisations feel the pressure
Some of the biggest global health funders, 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.