US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO).
“Oooh, this is a big deal,” the new US president said, approving the document after returning to the White House. It was one of dozens of executive actions he signed on to on his first day in office.
This is the second time Trump has ordered the United States to withdraw from the WHO.
Trump criticized 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 the decision.
Implementing this executive action on day one increases the likelihood that the United States will officially leave the global agency.
“They wanted us to come back so bad, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to the WHO, perhaps hinting that the United States could eventually return.
The order states that the United States is withdrawing “due to the organization’s mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms and its inability to demonstrate its independence from inappropriate measures.” political influence of WHO Member States.
The executive order also said the withdrawal was the result of “unfairly onerous payments” made by the United States to the WHO, part of the United Nations.
When Trump was first still in office, he criticized the organization for being too “China-centric” in its fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
Trump accused the WHO of showing bias against China in the way it issued its guidelines during the outbreak.
Under the Biden administration, the United States remained the WHO’s largest donor, and in 2023 it contributed nearly a fifth of the agency’s budget.
The organisation’s annual budget is $6.8 billion (£5.5 billion).
Public health experts have criticized Trump’s decision to leave the WHO, warning it could have consequences for Americans’ health.
Some have suggested the move could reverse progress made in the fight against infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and HIV and AIDS.
Ashish Jha, who previously worked as Covid-19 response coordinator under President Biden, previously warned that his departure would “not only harm the health of people around the world, but also the leadership and scientific prowess of the United States.” United.”
“This is a cataclysmic presidential decision. The withdrawal is a grave wound to global health, but an even deeper wound to the United States,” said Lawrence Gostin, a global public health expert and professor at the University of Georgetown.