WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump used one of several executive actions he issued on his first day back at the White House to begin the process of withdraw the United States of the World Health Organization for the second time in less than five years – a decision that many scientists fear could set back decades of progress in the fight against diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.
Experts also warned that withdrawing from the organization could weaken global defenses against new outbreaks that could trigger pandemics.
Here’s a look at what Trump’s decision means:
What happened?
In the first Oval Office appearance of his second term, Trump signed an executive order detailing how the withdrawal process could begin.
“Ooh,” Trump exclaimed as he was handed the action to sign. “It’s a big deal!”
His decision calls for suspending the future transfer of U.S. government funds to the organization, recalling and reassigning federal staff and contractors working with the WHO, and calls on officials to “identify credible U.S. and international partners and transparent to carry out the necessary activities previously undertaken by » WHO. .
This is not the first time Trump has attempted to cut ties with the WHO. In July 2020several months after the WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic and as cases increased around the world, the Trump administration formally informed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the United States planned to withdraw from the WHO, thereby suspending funding to the agency .
President Joe Biden overturned Trump’s decision on his first day in office in January 2021 – for Trump to essentially revive it on his first day back in the White House.
What is WHO and does it really matter?
It is the UN’s specialized agency for health and has the mandate to coordinate the global response to global health threats, including epidemics of mpox, Ebola And polio. It also provides technical assistance to the poorest countries, helps distribute scarce vaccines, provides supplies and treatments and establishes guidelines for hundreds of health conditions, including mental health and cancer.
“A U.S. withdrawal from the WHO would make the world far less healthy and less secure,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Global Health Law at Georgetown University. He said in an email that the loss of U.S. resources would devastate WHO’s global surveillance and outbreak response efforts.
Former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said it was not in the US interest to withdraw from the agency now, particularly given the “appalling proposition” that the increased spread of the bird flu in this country could turn into a pandemic.
She described Trump as “a disruptor” and said losing U.S. funding to the WHO would cause “a pretty significant dent” at the agency.
Can Trump really pull the US out of the WHO?
Yes, provided it obtains congressional approval and the United States meets its financial obligations to the WHO for the current fiscal year. The United States joined the WHO through a joint resolution passed in 1948 by both houses of Congress, which was subsequently supported by all administrations. The resolution requires the United States to provide one year’s notice if it decides to leave the WHO.
What does this mean for WHO?
This is extremely bad. The United States has historically been one of the WHO’s largest donors, providing the UN health agency not only with hundreds of millions of dollars, but also with hundreds of staff with specialized health expertise. public.
Over the past decade, the United States has paid the WHO between $160 million and $815 million annually. The WHO’s annual budget is approximately $2 billion to $3 billion. The loss of U.S. funding could cripple many global health initiatives, including efforts to eradicate polio, maternal and child health programs, and research to identify new viral threats.
US agencies that work with the WHO would also suffer, including the CDC. Leaving the WHO would exclude the United States from WHO-coordinated initiatives, such as determining the annual composition of flu vaccines and rapid access to genetic databases managed by the WHO, which could block attempts to produce vaccines and drugs.
Why is Trump withdrawing the United States from the WHO?
At a campaign rally in September, Trump said he would “tackle corruption” at the WHO and other public health institutions that he said were “dominated” by corporate power and China.
His executive order Monday said the United States was withdrawing from the WHO “due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose from Wuhan, China and other global health crises ” and cited the agency’s “failure to adopt urgent reforms” and its “inability to demonstrate independence from inappropriate political influence from WHO member states.”
The WHO made several costly mistakes during the pandemic, including advising against wear masks and claiming that COVID-19 was not airborne. The agency only officially recognized last year that the virus is actually spreading through the air.
During its efforts to stop COVID-19, WHO also faced the biggest sexual abuse scandal of its history, when media revealed that dozens of Congolese women had been sexually harassed or assaulted by health workers working to contain Ebola. The AP found that senior executives were informed of some cases of sexual abuse when they occurred in 2019, but did little to stop them or punish their perpetrators.
What did the WHO say?
In a statement Tuesday, the WHO said it “regrets” Trump’s announcement.
“We hope that the United States will reconsider its decision and look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the United States and WHO,” the organization said.
“For more than seven decades, WHO and the United States have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats. Together we ended smallpox and together we brought polio on the brink of eradication,” the WHO said.
At a press conference in Geneva on Tuesday, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said the United States contributed 18% to the WHO budget in 2023, making it the largest donor that year. He declined to say what the U.S. withdrawal might mean for the WHO.
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Cheng reported from Toronto. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Jamey Keaten in Davos, Switzerland, contributed to this report.
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