Trump Withdraws U.S. from World Health Organization
Shortly after being sworn into office on Monday, President Donald Trump declared that he plans to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The president announced the decision in an executive order, citing several reasons such as WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the organization’s “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms,” its “inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states,” and continued demands of “unfairly onerous payments from the United States.”
President Trump had taken previous action to withdraw from the organization nearing the end of his first term. However, President Joseph Biden blocked it from going into effect on his first day in office.
The executive order requires that the Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget work to pause the transfers of all U.S. funds, support, or resources to WHO, reassign government personnel working in any capacity with WHO, identify alternate U.S. and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by WHO, and replace the 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy.
Following President Trump’s announcement, WHO expressed regret, arguing that the organization “plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans.”
The statement explained that as a founding member of WHO, the U.S. helped the organization save “countless lives” with initiatives that ended smallpox and brought polio to the brink of eradication.
In its conclusion, the statement read: “We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”
SHARE