President Trump is keeping his pre-election promise to withdraw from the World Health Organization. He signed an executive decision in the Oval Office Monday evening regarding the process to end U.S. membership in the United Nations agency that oversees global health issues.
“Global Health ripped us off,” Trump said in a prolonged, relaxed discussion with reporters as he signed the executive actions.
The withdrawal process will take one year – the deadline set for any future withdrawal when the United States became a member of the WHO in 1948.
Trump’s frustration with the WHO dates back to the height of the COVID era. He has repeatedly criticized the organization for its slow response to the pandemic and its “owned and controlled by China“.
The loss to the WHO is significant. The United States is its largest donor. In 2022-2023, for example, Washington contributed $1.284 billion, hundreds of millions of dollars more than Germany, the second-largest donor.
Trump’s critics say the withdrawal is also a great loss for the United States. The WHO plays a central role in monitoring global health threats and, they point out, without a seat at the organization’s international table, the United States risks losing access to valuable data on health threats. emerging diseases.
“It’s the most cataclysmic decision,” says Laurent Gostinprofessor of global health law at Georgetown University and director of the WHO Center on Global Health Law. “(This is) a serious injury to America’s national interests and our national security. It will truly leave our agencies – like the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the NIH (National Institutes of Health) flying blind .”
Supporters of the decision reject this argument.
Brett Schaefer — a researcher at the Heritage Foundation — said the Trump administration may take other steps in global health after leaving the WHO.
“There is little lack of precedent for addressing pandemic issues outside of the WHO,” he said, speaking to NPR before signing the executive order. “There is a reason why UNAIDS exists, and there is a reason why GAVI (the Vaccine Alliance) exists, and there is a reason why the Global Fund exists – and that is because WHO has not, in the past, been considered the most effective organization. or the most responsive vehicle to address various international health concerns.
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