NEW YORK — The White House revealed late Monday that President Donald Trump is initiating the process for the U.S. to exit the World Health Organization (WHO) for a second time.

This decision, enacted through an executive order, is part of Trump’s campaign commitment to withdraw from international institutions. Health professionals express concern that this move might isolate the U.S., affecting its ability to respond to health crises and damaging diplomatic relationships on a global scale.

The U.S. has been the largest contributor to the Geneva-based WHO, an agency of the United Nations responsible for managing health emergencies. The United States has significantly influenced the organization since it was established after World War II.

Trump has previously criticized WHO for its COVID-19 pandemic response, even as his own administration faced criticism for its delayed reaction to the health crisis. He began withdrawing from WHO in 2020, during the peak of the pandemic.

Although he aimed to leave, legal requirements related to the withdrawal timeline and funding commitments prevented him from doing so. Former President Joe Biden reversed this withdrawal and reinstated WHO funding upon taking office.

Now, Trump’s executive order, issued on the first day of his second term instead of the final year of his first, enables him to proceed with the withdrawal as planned.

The order states that the U.S. is departing “due to the organization’s inadequate handling of the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China, its failure to implement necessary reforms, and its lack of independence from political pressures from member states.” Additionally, it mentions the “unjust financial burdens” the U.S. has borne in supporting WHO.

Under Biden’s administration, the U.S. maintained its position as the largest funding source for WHO, which has an annual budget of $6.8 billion. The United States contributed nearly 20% of WHO’s budget in 2023.

The U.S. has been a member of WHO since its inception in 1948, and exiting would result in it being the only major nation not part of the 194-member organization.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of WHO, expressed a desire for continued cooperation with the incoming Trump administration to enhance global health security, according to Tarik Jašarević, a WHO spokesperson. He emphasized that the partnership between the U.S. and WHO has “protected and saved millions of lives both in America and internationally,” as noted by the Director-General.

Health experts describe it as a ‘serious strategic mistake’

Health experts anticipated Trump’s announcement and have voiced private and public concerns about the decision, arguing it poses serious risks to public health both domestically and globally.

In December, Dr. Ashish Jha, who previously coordinated COVID-19 response in the Biden administration, labeled it a “catastrophic mistake” for the international community and a “terrible mistake” for the U.S.

“This is going to be a significant strategic error that will compromise the health and safety of America,” says Lawrence Gostin, a public health authority and faculty director at Georgetown University’s O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, speaking to YSL News.

“The withdrawal will isolate the United States both diplomatically and in terms of pandemic response,” he warned.

What will the U.S. withdrawal from WHO entail?

Trump’s order necessitates a complicated process to disentangle American health institutions from global networks that have been interconnected for 75 years.

The WHO charter, created in New York, lacks a definitive procedure for member states to exit. A joint resolution passed by Congress in 1948 allows for withdrawal with a year’s notice, provided that the U.S. meets its financial obligations for the current fiscal year.

According to Jašarević from WHO, the U.S. is the only member state with an established exit protocol. The former Soviet Union withdrew in 1949 during Cold War tensions but later rejoined.

There are unresolved issues regarding how the U.S. and other nations will collaborate and respond to health emergencies moving forward.

Gostin warns that the U.S. leaving WHO would significantly impede the agency’s ability to handle outbreaks, monitor health threats, and collaborate effectively.

“Our public health agencies would lack vital information,” he cautioned.

For instance, the Pan-American Health Organization, which serves as WHO’s regional office for the Americas, is located in Washington, D.C. Furthermore, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has personnel stationed at WHO and other global health organizations.

 
U.S. partnerships with WHO have been vital in combatting diseases such as polio, which is nearing eradication, and HIV/AIDS, thanks to a program initiated during George W. Bush’s presidency that has effectively reduced transmission rates in several countries. This initiative is recognized for its success in both health outcomes and diplomatic relations.

Moreover, information-sharing practices between the U.S. and WHO have been crucial not only for addressing health crises but also for the rapid development of vaccines and treatments, noted Gostin.

He now expresses concerns about the emergence of new diseases and potential pandemic threats that could leave the U.S. in a more vulnerable position.

This includes mpox, which has claimed at least a thousand lives in Africa this year, and bird flu, which has been detected in the U.S. Officials in the U.S. believe bird flu has “moderate” pandemic risk, indicating that a couple of mutations in the circulating avian influenza viruses could increase their potential to spread or become more severe in humans.

Gostin referenced Operation Warp Speed, the initiative launched during Trump’s first term to expedite COVID-19 vaccine development. At that time, the U.S. prioritized vaccinating its population before assisting vulnerable populations abroad, which many globally viewed as inequitable.

“In future pandemics,” he cautioned, “we might find ourselves at the back of the line, excluded from benefiting from critical resources.”