President-elect Donald Trump plans to pull the United States out of the World Health Organization (WHO) on day one of his second administration on Jan. 20. The plans were first reported on Sunday, Dec. 22, by the Financial Times.
Meanwhile, global health officials warn of the potentially “catastrophic” consequences of the United States leaving the organization. The departure of the U.S. from the global health body would reportedly eliminate the agency’s largest single donor. The U.S. provided around 16% of the WHO’s funding from 2022-2023.
Professor of Global Health at Georgetown Law, Lawrence Gostin, said America’s absence would create a “huge vacuum in global health financing and leadership,” adding, it will hurt the WHO’s ability to respond to health emergencies and lead to cuts among “scientific staff.”
Global health officials say the WHO is critical to vaccine development and distribution as well as other treatments during global health emergencies.
Gostin says a withdrawal will likely hamper the United States’ response to any potential pandemics as well, noting, America would be without a key source of information “when the next outbreak occurs.”
Second time’s the charm?
This wouldn’t be the first time Trump has tried to lead a U.S. exit from the WHO.
In 2020, Trump began the process of leaving the organization amid the spread of COVID-19. At the time, he accused the WHO of being under the control of Beijing and criticized its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. He sent a four-page letter to the WHO director, suspending funds.
This is the letter sent to Dr. Tedros of the World Health Organization. It is self-explanatory! pic.twitter.com/pF2kzPUpDv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2020
On May 29, 2020, Trump said, “We will be today terminating our relationship with the World Health Organization and redirecting those funds to other worldwide and deserving urgent global public health needs.”
Details remain undisclosed on how Trump’s new administration plans to handle the reported withdrawal. In his first attempt to divert funds elsewhere, Trump’s team said the United States would continue to participate in “critical meetings” with the organization.
At the time, some Republican lawmakers supported the decision for the U.S. to withdraw from the WHO, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., posted on X that the WHO “must be held accountable,” but said it would divert funds to more “credible and transparent” world health agencies who could “demonstrate their independence from China.”
However, the process of withdrawal was never completed, and Trump’s successor President Joe Biden restarted relations with the WHO on day one in office, just months later.
Those familiar with Trump’s current plans tell the Financial Times that the incoming administration will move much faster this time to withdraw from the agency.
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