U.S. Finally Withdraws from the World Health Organization
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order effectively withdrawing the U.S. from the World Health Organization (WHO).
This decision was made in response to the organization’s “mishandling” of the COVID-19 pandemic and other health crises. The political influence that member states have had on the WHO, along with its failure to act independent from those states, was another issue prompting the withdrawal.
This action is a repetition of a proposal made over four years ago during Trump’s first presidency.
In 2020, prior to declaring the U.S.’s intention to withdraw, President Trump halted funding for the WHO for severely “mismanaging and covering up the spread of the coronavirus.”
Later in the same year, the President announced his intention to withdraw from the WHO. However, the organization has a one-year notice that must be fulfilled prior to a country’s departure. This allowed the proposed withdrawal to be retracted by the following presidential administration. That retraction was revoked with the recent executive order, thereby allowing the U.S. to leave the organization as planned.
According to the executive order, the Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget have been ordered to perform the following tasks, including, but not limited to, the following:
“[P]ause the future transfer of any United States Government funds, support, or resources to the WHO…”
“[R]ecall and reassign United States Government personnel or contractors working in any capacity with the WHO;”
“[I]dentify credible and transparent United States and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by the WHO.”
Another matter of concern to the U.S. was the impact of China on the WHO. The executive order states that China contributes about 90% less to the WHO than the U.S. despite having a much bigger population.
The WHO is disappointed with the U.S’s withdrawal. A spokesperson with the organization told Reuters:
“We hope that the United States will reconsider, and we really hope that there will be constructive dialogue for the benefit of everyone, for Americans but also for people around the world.”
The U.S. will look to “identify credible and transparent United States and international partners to assume necessary activities previously undertaken by the WHO.”
