Trump moves to withdraw US from World Health Organization

By Alvin Wu
Domestic Affairs
Trump moves to withdraw US from World Health Organization

World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus speaks at a press briefing on COVID-19 at the agency's headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, on Sept. 3, 2020. WHO/Handout

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 (ZFJ) — President Donald Trump moved to withdraw the United States from membership in the World Health Organization (WHO) in a Day 1 executive order.

In the order, Trump said the withdrawal was due to the WHO’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and China’s influence over the United Nations global public health agency.

“The United States noticed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states,” reads the order.

Trump also asserted that other nations were not paying their fair share to support the WHO. He has long been critical of massive U.S. contributions to international organizations like the U.N. and NATO, arguing that other member nations have become too dependent on America and not been paying enough.

“The WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments,” adds the order. “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.”

According to the WHO, the U.S. is “the top donor and partner to WHO, contributing through assessed contributions and voluntary funding,” contributing $1.284 billion from 2022-2023.

World Health Organization chart showing top financial contributors from 2022-2023. WHO/Handout World Health Organization chart showing top financial contributors from 2022-2023. WHO/Handout

The WHO budget for 2024-2025 is $6.83 billion.

Trump’s executive order rescinded the actions of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, that reverted Trump’s first attempt to withdraw from the WHO on July 6, 2020. It also moved to pause all future funds transfers to the WHO and withdraw American government personnel working with the organization.

The order charges the secretary of state to immediately begin the withdrawal process.

The WHO noted its regret for the departure of a founding member.

“WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go,” reads the organization’s statement.

The WHO administers a host of global public health programs, such as determining the flu vaccine composition annually and maintaining worldwide genetic databases. Once the withdrawal is complete, American agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will no longer have access to these programs.

The CDC did not immediately respond to an emailed ZFJ inquiry on how the agency’s operations would be affected by the WHO withdrawal.

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