US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization (WHO).
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“Oooh, that’s a big one,” the newly inaugurated US president said as he approved the document after arriving back at the White House. It was one of dozens of executive actions he put his signature to on his first day in office.
This marks the second time Trump has ordered the US to pull out of the WHO.
Trump was critical of how the international body handled COVID-19 and began the process of leaving the Geneva-based institution during the pandemic. President Joe Biden later reversed that decision.
Carrying out this executive action on his first day makes it more likely that the US will formally leave the global agency.
“They wanted us back so badly, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to the WHO, perhaps hinting that the US might return eventually.
The order stated that the US was withdrawing “due to the organization’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that arose out of Wuhan, China, and other global health crises, its failure to adopt urgently needed reforms, and its inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”
The executive order also noted that the withdrawal was the result of “unfairly onerous payments” the US made to the WHO, which is part of the United Nations.
When Trump was in office the first time, he was critical of the organization for being too “China-centric” in its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump accused the WHO of being biased towards China in how it issued guidance during the outbreak.
Under the Biden administration, the US continued to be the largest funder of the WHO, and in 2023, it contributed almost one-fifth of the agency’s budget.
The organization’s annual budget is $6.8 billion (£5.5 billion).
Public health experts have criticized Trump’s decision to leave the WHO, warning there could be consequences for Americans’ health.
Some have suggested that the move could reverse progress made in fighting infectious diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS.
Ashish Jha, who formerly served as the COVID-19 response coordinator under President Biden, previously warned that leaving would “harm not only the health of people around the world but also US leadership and scientific prowess.”
“It’s a cataclysmic presidential decision. Withdrawal is a grievous wound to world health, but a still deeper wound to the US,” said Lawrence Gostin, a global public health expert and professor at Georgetown University.
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