President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday evening withdraw the United States from the World Health Organizationa move that some public health experts say would put the nation at a significant disadvantage.
In the orderTrump accused the WHO of “mismanaging” the COVID-19 pandemic, failing to adopt “urgent reforms” and being politically influenced by other member states.
The president also said the withdrawal was a “scam.”
“Everyone is ripping off the United States and that’s it, it’s not going to happen again,” Trump said Monday night when asked by a reporter about his experience leading the country during the COVID-19 pandemic and on the importance for WHO to put a plan in place. global response to pandemics.
The text of the executive order describes an “unfair” requirement for “onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion to payments assessed by other countries.”
“China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, but its contribution to the WHO is nearly 90 percent lower,” the executive order said.
Trump’s executive order is an attempt to end a process he began in the final months of his first term. The president temporarily reduced funding and signed an executive order in July 2020 withdrawing the United States from the WHO but, as withdrawal requires a one year’s noticeformer President Joe Biden reversed the decision when he took office in January 2021.
Public health experts who spoke to ABC News said they fear WHO’s withdrawal will put the United States at a disadvantage when it comes to responding to health crises at home and abroad.
“The withdrawal of the United States from the WHO is really disappointing news. It is a strategic mistake in many ways for us as a country,” said Dr. Daniele Fallin, dean of the Rollins School of Public Health from Emory University in Atlanta, to ABC News.
“Not being part of the WHO means not only are we threatening the health of Americans and our fellow human beings around the world, but we are also losing our leadership status in global health, and that worries me greatly.” , she added. .
Here are what experts believe are the implications of a US exit from the WHO:
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, January 20, 2025.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
US may miss early warning signs of disease
The United States’ withdrawal from the WHO could hamper efforts to address current public health problems, such as avian flu, 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 precaution, in case it becomes necessary.
Last year, the WHO announced that it had launched an initiative to help accelerate the development of a human avian influenza 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 on emerging public health threats, experts said.
The United States also makes major contributions to the work of the WHO, including collaborating with the CDC and the National Institutes of Health on issues such as cancer prevention and global health security.
“I view the WHO as a network of countries around the world that inform and protect each other when health problems arise, whether they are health problems coming into the United States or health problems coming out of the United States,” Dr. Perry Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health in New Jersey, told ABC News. “And so, it’s disadvantageous to people, and it’s disadvantageous to the United States, (which needs) to have access to relevant, timely and important information.”
The United States could play a lesser role in responding to global health crises
WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus responded to the withdrawal announcement in a statement. statement early Tuesday morning, expressing “regret” at hearing the news.
“For more than seven decades, WHO and the United States 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 brought polio to the brink of eradication. American institutions have contributed to and benefited from their membership in the WHO.”
Public health experts have said that not being part of the WHO when these initiatives were being carried out – and, in some cases, are still being carried out – would have harmed progress made at home and abroad.
The World Health Organization (WHO) with WHO headquarters in the background in Geneva, Switzerland.
Lian Yi/Xinhua via Getty Images
Thomas Bollyky, director of the global health program at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, called the executive order removing the United States from the WHO “a huge mistake.”
He said he was concerned because it comes at the same time as another executive order signed by Trump putting in place a 90-day pause on all foreign aid spending.
“Many U.S. global health programs fund ongoing treatment of individuals for malaria or HIV/AIDS,” he told ABC News. “A 90-day pause could significantly disrupt the operation of these programs, and it is not entirely certain how the strategic review that will take place during this period will affect the future of global health programs.”
“The WHO is not a perfect institution, but it plays an irreplaceable role in the global response to the epidemic and, by withdrawing this action, it reduces the ability of the United States to positively influence this response to the epidemic .It makes Americans less safe,” Bollyky added. .
Tesla CEO and tech billionaire Elon Musk, whom Trump chose to lead the new Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE), responded to the WHO’s statement on with a kiss emoji on Tuesday morning.
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.