President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), a body Trump has repeatedly criticized for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the White House hours after his inauguration, he said, noting that the United States pays far more to the United Nations agency than China does, adding, “Global Health has failed us.” The United States, the Geneva-based organization’s largest donor, provides significant financial support for the WHO’s operations.
Its return is expected to lead to a significant restructuring of the organization and could further disrupt global health initiatives. This is the second time Trump has tried to sever ties with the WHO.
During its first term, the United States issued a notice of intent to withdraw, accusing the organization of being overly influenced by China in the early stages of the pandemic. That move was later reversed under the administration of former President Joe Biden.
China pledges support
In Beijing, a Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said Beijing would continue to support the WHO. “The WHO’s role should be strengthened, not weakened,” Guo Jiakun said. “China will, as always, support the WHO in fulfilling its responsibilities… and work towards building a community of health for humanity.”
In his new executive order, Trump directed agencies to “block any United States government funding, support, or transfer of resources to the World Health Organization” and “identify credible and transparent United States and international partners to take over essential activities previously undertaken by the World Health Organization.”
The administration also announced plans to review and scrap Biden’s 2024 US Global Health Security Strategy, which was designed to prevent, detect and respond to infectious disease threats “as quickly as possible.”
Many experts have expressed concern about the US withdrawal. “We cannot make the WHO more effective by walking away from it,” Tom Frieden, a former senior health official under Barack Obama, wrote in X. “The decision to withdraw would weaken US influence, increase the risk of deadly pandemics, and make us all less safe.”
Others have warned that withdrawing from the organization could harm the United States’ ability to monitor and prevent health threats from abroad, as it would lose privileged access to crucial pandemic surveillance data.
“Instead of being the first to get vaccines, we will be at the back of the line,” Lawrence Gostin, a professor of public health law at Georgetown University, wrote in X. “Withdrawing from the WHO would deeply hurt our competitive edge in American security and innovation.”
