President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday directing the United States to withdraw from the World Health Organization ( WHO ), citing the organization’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and China’s influence over the body.
The move comes as the next day Trump has sought to break relations with the WHO, with the first attempt being reversed under former president Joe Biden‘s management.
Speaking at the White House days after his opening, Trump stated,” World Health ripped us off,” emphasizing that the United States was paying far more to the UN system compared to China.
The United States, being the largest donor to the Geneva-based organization, provides significant financial support important to the WHO’s operations, and its withdrawal is expected to cause a major restructuring of the institution and possible destroy global health initiatives more.
Trump’s executive order directed agencies to “pause the potential transfer of any United States Government funds, support, or resources to the WHO” and to “identify believable and open United States and international partners to assume essential activities recently undertaken by the WHO. “
The administration also announced plans to evaluate and rescind Biden’s 2024 US Global Health Security Strategy, designed to prevent, detect, and listen to infectious disease risks,” as soon as feasible. “
The timing of the US withdrawal coincides with mounting fears over the pandemic potential of the current bird flu outbreak ( H5N1 ), which has infected dozens and claimed one life in the United States.
However, WHO member states have been negotiating the country’s first convention on epidemic prevention, preparedness, and reaction since late 2021, discussions that will now deal without US involvement.
The world health system stands to lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue following Trump’s order.
This marks Trump’s subsequent effort to remove the US from the WHO. In July 2020, he sent a letter to WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus notifying him of the US intent to remove within a month, accusing the WHO of helping China persuade the world about the spread of Covid-19. But, after Trump’s battle in the 2020 election, President Joe Biden reversed the determination upon taking office in January 2021.
The Executive Order likewise calls for establishing directorates and coordinating systems within the National Security Council machine as Trump considers necessary and appropriate to secure public wellbeing and protect biodiversity.
