US President Donald Trump signed an executive order beginning the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Oooh, that’s big,” said the recently inaugurated US president as he approved the document after returning to the White House. It was one of dozens of executive actions he signed on his first day in office.
This is the second time that Trump has ordered the withdrawal of the US from the WHO.
Trump has been critical of the international body’s handling of Covid-19 and began the process of withdrawing from the Geneva-based institution during the pandemic. President Joe Biden later reversed that decision.
Taking this executive action on Day One makes it more likely that the US will officially leave the global agency.
“They wanted us back so bad, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to the WHO, perhaps hinting that the U.S. may eventually return.
The order states that the US is withdrawing “due to the organization’s poor handling of the Covid-19 pandemic originating in Wuhan, China and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms and its inability to demonstrate independence from undue political influence by member states WHO”.
The executive order also said the withdrawal was the result of “unfairly large payments” made by the US to the WHO, which is part of the United Nations.
While Trump was still in office for the first time, he was critical of the organization for being too “China-centric” in its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trump has accused the WHO of being biased against China in issuing guidelines during the outbreak.
Under the Biden administration, the US continued to be the largest financier of the WHO, and in 2023 contributed almost one fifth of the agency’s budget.
The organization’s annual budget is $6.8 billion (£5.5 billion).
It is possible that the funding could disappear almost immediately, and it is not clear whether other nations will act to fill the gap.
A US withdrawal could affect the WHO’s ability to respond to emergencies such as an Ebola or MPOX outbreak – let alone another Covid-19-style pandemic.
Public health experts suggest there could be other consequences for Americans’ health if progress against infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, HIV and AIDS is reversed.
Ashish Jha, who previously served as the co-ordinator of the Covid-19 response under President Biden, previously warned that leaving would “harm not only the health of people around the world, but also American leadership and scientific strength”.
“It’s a cataclysmic presidential decision. The withdrawal is a severe wound to global health, but an even deeper wound to the US,” said Lawrence Gostin, a global public health expert and professor at Georgetown University.
There are also concerns that a US withdrawal could ultimately open the door to more, not less, Chinese influence on the global body.
The benefits of the move are few, but some argue it could spur further reforms to the way the WHO operates, meaning it better serves the public health needs of people around the world.
If that happens, it could be enough to tempt the US back. However, the tone of the speech coming out of Washington suggests that this second attempt by President Trump to withdraw the US from the international health body will not be reconsidered.
