The U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO).
“World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” Trump said at the signing of an executive order on the withdrawal, shortly after his inauguration to a second term, marking his second effort to remove the U.S. from the global health body.
Trump initially began this process during the COVID-19 pandemic, citing dissatisfaction with the WHO’s handling of the crisis, but his successor, President Joe Biden, reversed the decision.
The executive order stated that the withdrawal was due to the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China,” as well as concerns over the agency’s political independence and “unfairly onerous payments” made by the U.S.
The United States is by far the WHO’s biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. WHO’s most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was $6.8 billion.
Trump’s order said the administration would cease negotiations on the WHO pandemic treaty while the withdrawal is in progress.
Health experts have criticized the move. Lawrence Gostin, a global public health expert, called it “a grievous wound to world health and U.S. leadership.”
The WHO said on Tuesday that it regretted the move from its top donor country.
“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,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic told reporters in Geneva.
Critics warn the decision could weaken the WHO’s ability to tackle global health emergencies, including Ebola outbreaks and future pandemics.
“This is the darkest day for global health I’ve ever experienced,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor of global health at Georgetown University in Washington and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law. “Trump could be sowing the seeds for the next pandemic.”
While some argue the withdrawal could spark much-needed reforms within the WHO, Trump’s remarks suggested a low likelihood of the U.S. rejoining under his administration.