The U.S. helped found the WHO in 1948. Trump’s executive order marks the first time a member nation has opted to leave the WHO.
Josh Marcus
Tue 21 January 2025
Shortly after being inaugurated on Monday, Donald Trump signed an executive order initiating a U.S. withdrawl from the World Health Organization, the United Nations global health body that monitors pandemics and supports vaccination efforts around the world.
“World Health ripped us off,” Trump said in the Oval Office as he signed.
Monday’s action starts a one-year countdown clock until the final exit, as WHO members are required to give one year’s notice and fulfill existing funding obligations before leaving the group.
Trump sought to withdraw from WHO in 2020, but was unable to before leaving office (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The WHO said it regretted Trump’s decision and pointed to its long history working with the U.S. on crucial issues like ending smallpox and drastically limiting the spread of polio. It also argued the body has worked with the U.S. to pursue “the largest set of reforms in its history, to transform our accountability, cost-effectiveness, and impact in countries.”
“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,” a WHO spokesperson told The Independent in a statement.
The organization issued an “emergency appeal” for funding last week.
Trump’s order cited “unfairly onerous” U.S. payments to the WHO and accused the organization of “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China.”
It also pulled the U.S. out of ongoing negotiations for a global pandemic agreement and rescinded the Biden administration’s 2024 U.S. Global Health Security Strategy, a national policy strategy calling for increased bilateral partnerships and financial investments in pandemic response.
Trump’s move could cripple the organization, depriving it of major funding and scientific expertise.
The U.S. helped found the WHO in 1948. Trump’s executive order marks the first time a member nation has opted to leave the WHO.
Experts warn pulling from WHO will cripple organization and cut off U.S. access to key pandemic data (AFP via Getty Images)
Health experts warned the decision would harm both global health and U.S. interests.
Tom Bollyky, director of global health for the Council on Foreign Relations, told Stat News the decision is “an enormous mistake.”
“Americans have been made less safe by the president’s action today,” Bollyky said.
Lawrence O. Gostin, director of WHO’s Center on Global Health Law, told NPR Trump’s executive order is a "grave wound to American national interests and our national security.”
“This will really leave our agencies – like the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] and NIH [National Institutes of Health] flying blind,” he added.
Once the U.S. leaves the WHO, the CDC won’t have access to global data on pandemics and other health issues collected by the multilateral body.
The U.S. has historically been the largest financial contributor to the WHO, giving $1.284 billion in the 2022 - 2023 period, in a mixture of assessed and voluntary contributions.
The U.S. dues to the WHO for 2025 are roughly $130 million, while China will pay $87.6 million.
Trump attempted to pull the U.S. from the WHO in 2020, but left office before the full one-year notice ended, then saw his steps reversed under Biden.
Trump, as well as his conservative allies, have criticized the WHO for its handling of the Covid pandemic, arguing the organization didn’t push China hard enough for a transparent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.
Public health experts worry about implications of Trump withdrawing US from WHO: 'An enormous mistake'
MARY KEKATOS
Tue 21 January 2025 at 2:2
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday evening withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization, a move some public health experts say will put the nation at a major disadvantage.
In the order, Trump accused the WHO of "mishandling" the COVID-19 pandemic, not adopting "urgently needed reforms" and being politically influenced by other member states.
The president also said the withdrawal was about "being ripped off."
Trump withdraws US from World Health Organization, finishing what he started
"Everybody rips off the United States and that's it -- it's not going to happen anymore," Trump said Monday night when asked by a reporter about his experience leading the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of the WHO to mount a global response to pandemics.
The text of the executive order describes an "unfair" demand of "onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries' assessed payments."
"China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO," the executive order reads.
Trump's executive order is an attempt to finish a process he began during the last months of his first term. The president temporarily slashed funding and signed an executive order in July 2020 removing the U.S. from the WHO but, because withdrawal requires a one-year notice, former President Joe Biden reversed the decision upon taking office in January 2021.
Public health experts who spoke to ABC News said they worry the withdrawal from the WHO will put the U.S. at a disadvantage when it comes to responding to health crises at home and abroad.
"The U.S. withdrawal from the WHO is really disappointing news. It's a strategic mistake in so many ways for us as a country," Dr. Daniele Fallin, dean of the Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University in Atlanta, told ABC News.
"Not being part of the WHO means not only do we threaten the health of Americans and our fellow humans across the globe, but we also lose our stature as a leader in global health, and I'm very concerned about that," she added.
Here's what experts said would be the implications of the U.S. leaving the WHO:
PHOTO: President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the WHite House in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025. (Carlos Barria/Reuters)
U.S. could miss early warning signs of disease
Removing the U.S. from the WHO could hamper efforts to address current public health issues, such as bird flu, the experts said.
Human cases have been diagnosed across the country since April 2024, with 67 confirmed as of Monday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC and other public health officials say there is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission and the risk to the general public is low. However, federal health officials have prepared millions of vials of an available bird flu vaccine as a precautionary measure, in case it becomes necessary.
Last year, the WHO announced it had launched an initiative to help accelerate the development of a human bird flu vaccine using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
No longer being part of the WHO could mean losing the ability to collaborate on disease preparedness and response, as well as the ability to exchange information about emerging threats to public health, the experts said.
The U.S. also majorly contributes to the WHO's work, including collaborations with the CDC and the National Institutes of Health on issues including cancer prevention and global health security.
"I think about the WHO as a network of countries around the world that inform and protect each other when health issues are emerging, whether they're health issues entering into the United States, or whether the health issue is going outside the United States," Dr. Perry Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health in New Jersey, told ABC News. "And so, it is disadvantageous for people, and is disadvantageous for the United States, [who need] access to relevant, timely, important information."
U.S. could play lesser role in responding to global health crises
WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus responded to the withdrawal announcement in a statement early Tuesday morning, expressing "regret" to hear the news.
"For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats," his statement read, in part. "Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication. American institutions have contributed to and benefited from membership in WHO."
Public health experts said not being part of the WHO when those initiatives were being conducted -- and, in some cases, are still being conducted -- would have been detrimental to making progress at home and abroad.
Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the think tank Council on Foreign Relations, described the executive order removing the U.S. from the WHO as "an enormous mistake."
He said he's worried because it comes at the same time as another executive order Trump signed putting a 90-day pause on all foreign aid spending.
"Many U.S. global health programs fund the ongoing treatment of individuals for malaria or for HIV/AIDS," he told ABC News. "A 90-day pause could be significantly disruptive to the operation of those programs, and it is not entirely certain how the strategy review that will occur during that time will affect global health programs moving forward."
"The WHO is not a perfect institution, but it plays an irreplaceable role in global outbreak response and, by withdrawing this action, reduces the ability of the United States to positively influence that response to outbreak. It makes Americans less safe," Bollyky added.
Tesla CEO and tech billionaire Elon Musk, whom Trump tapped to head the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), responded to the WHO's statement on X with a kiss-face emoji on Tuesday morning.
ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
WHO regrets Trump move to pull US from organization
AFP
Tue 21 January 2025
Donald Trump's executive order directing the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization is the second time he has tried to sever ties with the international group (Fabrice COFFRINI) (Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP/AFP)
The World Health Organization said Tuesday it "regrets" US President Donald Trump's decision -- just hours after taking power -- to withdraw his country from the UN agency, saying it hoped he would reconsider.
Trump on Monday signed an executive order directing the United States to withdraw from the WHO, a body he has repeatedly criticized over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Speaking at the White House after his inauguration, Trump said the United States was paying far more to the United Nations body than China, adding: "World Health ripped us off."
Washington, comfortably the biggest financial contributor to the Geneva-based organization, provides substantial support that is critical to the WHO's operations.
The UN health agency expressed disappointment Tuesday over Trump's decision.
"WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world's people, including Americans," spokesman Tarik Jasarevic told a press briefing in Geneva.
"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."
The American withdrawal could leave global health initiatives short of funding.
This marks the second time Trump has sought to sever ties with the WHO.
During his 2017-2021 first term, the United States issued a notice of intent to withdraw, accusing the organization of being overly influenced by China during the pandemic's early stages.
That move was later reversed under Joe Biden's administration.
Jasarevic stressed it would take one year from formal notification being deposited with the UN for the United States to leave the WHO.
- China promises support -
The European Commission voiced "concerns" at Trump's decision, warning it could undermine the response to future pandemics.
"If we want to be resilient to global health threats, we need to have global cooperation," commission spokeswoman Eva Hrncirova told reporters. "We trust that the US administration will consider all this ahead of the formal withdrawal."
In China, a foreign ministry spokesman said Beijing would continue supporting the UN agency.
"The role of the WHO should only be strengthened, not weakened," Guo Jiakun said.
"China will, as always, support the WHO in fulfilling its responsibilities... and work towards building a shared community of health for humanity."
In his new executive order, Trump directed agencies to "pause the future transfer of any United States Government funds, support, or resources to the WHO" and to "identify credible and transparent United States and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by the WHO."
The administration also announced plans to review and rescind Biden's 2024 US Global Health Security Strategy -- designed to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious disease threats -- "as soon as practicable."
Several experts expressed dismay at the withdrawal.
"We cannot make WHO more effective by walking away from it," Tom Frieden, a former senior health official under Barack Obama, wrote on X.
"The decision to withdraw weakens America's influence, increases the risk of a deadly pandemic, and makes all of us less safe."
Others warned that by exiting the organization, the United States will lose privileged access to important epidemic surveillance data which could harm the capacity to monitor and prevent health threats from abroad.
"Instead of being the first to receive vaccines, we will be at the back of the line," Lawrence Gostin, professor of public health law at Georgetown University, wrote on X.
"Withdrawal from WHO inflicts a deep wound on US security & our competitive edge in innovation."
The timing comes amid mounting fears over the pandemic potential of the current bird flu outbreak (H5N1), which has infected dozens and claimed one life in the United States.
Meanwhile, WHO member states have been negotiating the world's first treaty on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response since late 2021 -- negotiations now set to proceed without further US participation.
ia/jgc/nl/rjm/mlm
Trump pulled the US out of the World Health Organization, again. Here’s why
Katie Hawkinson
Tue 21 January 2025
President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the World Health Organization via executive order Monday evening to the shock of some.
Trump cited the organization’s “mishandling” of the COVID-19 pandemic and the funds contributed by the U.S. in his executive order ending the country’s membership. The order came amid dozens of others during the first hours of Trump’s second term in the White House.
Here’s what we know about the decision:
President Donald Trump pictured signing dozens of executive orders during his first day in office. Trump removed the U.S. from the World Health Organization via executive order Monday evening (EPA)
Why did Trump remove the U.S. from the World Health Organization?
Trump signed an executive order hours after taking office Monday revoking the country’s membership in the WHO.
The executive order cites the organization’s “mishandling” of the COVID-19 pandemic, its “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms” and its “inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”
The president also cited the “onerous payments” the U.S. gives as a member. The U.S. has paid WHO anywhere from $160 million to $815 million every year for the past decade, the Associated Press reports.
Trump ended the country’s WHO membership last time he was in office as well.
Trump severed ties with WHO and suspended funding to the organization during his first administration in July 2020 as COVID-19 cases surged globally and thousands of Americans died from the virus.
President Joe Biden reversed the order on his first day in office, making the U.S. a member of WHO again in January 2021.
What does this mean for the World Health Organization?
The U.S. was the organization’s largest donor in 2023, paying 18 percent of the organization’s total budget, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said Tuesday.
“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,” the organization said in a statement.
“For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats,” the statement continued. “Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication.”
While Jasarevic declined to answer what Trump’s order would mean for the organization, the AP reports the loss of U.S. funding could hamper many of their global health initiatives including polio eradication efforts and research on new viral threats.
What does this mean for the U.S.?
U.S. agencies that work with WHO, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will suffer from the president’s decision, the AP reports.
These agencies will no longer benefit from WHO-coordinated initiatives or have access to key research materials from the organization, such as their genetic databases, which are used to produce vaccines and medication, according to the AP.
Trump cited the organization’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the high financial contribution of the U.S. to the organization in his executive order (AP)
Withdrawing from WHO and hampering its funding could also have a global impact.
“A U.S. withdrawal from WHO would make the world far less healthy and safe,” Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Global Health Law at Georgetown University, told the AP.
Gostin added that losing U.S. funding could devastate the organization’s epidemic response efforts.
The decision comes as the U.S. sees a spike in bird flu cases across the nation.
There are 67 confirmed cases of the bird flu as of Tuesday afternoon, according to the CDC, with at least one death from the virus confirmed. The death, reported in Louisiana, marks the first in the U.S. from the virus.
Before leaving office, the Biden administration allocated $300 million toward monitoring H5N1 bird flu and regional, state, and local preparedness programs, The Independent previously reported. A third of that is allocated for testing, outreach to high-risk populations, and increased surveillance of individuals who have been exposed to infected animals.
