WHO plays a pivotal role in battling global health threats...
President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the US to withdraw from the World Health Organization, a decision that would cut off one of the international aid and disease response group’s largest funding sources.
Details of the order, which was among a flurry of executive actions Trump signed Monday in the Oval Office, were not immediately available.
The Geneva-based WHO plays crucial role against fighting global health threats, focusing on infectious diseases along with humanitarian crises and chronic health conditions, like cancer and heart diseases. A US exit could leave it short of critical funding. During the 2024-25 budget cycle, US contributions came to $662 million, or 19% of the agency’s total revenue, according to the WHO.
Toward the end of his first term, Trump tried to pull the US out of the international health body, saying that it deferred too much to the Chinese government in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak and didn’t act quickly enough to contain the disease. The move was widely criticized by both health advocates and Democratic lawmakers, who called it a political maneuver aimed at shifting blame for the administration’s disastrous response to the pandemic.
In 1948 when it became a WHO member, the US decided that a withdrawal would be preceded by a one-year notice period and full payment of financial obligations. President Joe Biden reversed Trump’s effort upon taking office in January 2021, before the notice period expired.
However, it is not clear yet whether the American president has the authority to exit the WHO without congressional approval, according to a 2020 Congressional Research Service report. Still, the chances that the Republican-controlled Congress would block Trump’s move appear small.
A US departure would strike a severe blow to the agency that played a key role in the eradication of smallpox worldwide and continues to fight contagious diseases such as HIV and polio. The WHO is currently responding to health emergencies including outbreaks of cholera, dengue, mpox, and Marburg virus.
The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.