On January 20th, President Donald Trump issued an executive order establishing the United States withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). Trump voiced concern over the WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, causing alleged WHO bias towards China, desire for National Sovereignty, and concerns over inadequate effectiveness.
Trump stated that he is unhappy with the WHO’s “inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states” (qtd. in NPR News).
The U.S. withdrawal from the World Health Organization has significant financial implications for the organization as the United States has been its largest financial supporter, contributing approximately 18% of its total budget (Reuters.com).
Due to the U.S. withdrawal from the organization, the WHO has been forced to freeze hiring and start budget cuts to compensate for the large loss of funding and budget availability (Reuters.com).
Junior Emma Sanchez states, “World health should be a priority for all nations and I think that the United States leaving the World Health Organization is a risky move. It puts a lot of efforts across the globe at risk, especially since our country is the WHO’s primary budget source.”
WHO, the United Nations health agency, was founded in 1948 in the midst of international distress post-WWII, creating international alliances to aid funding for health crises (CNN). Although pledging their sovereignty, countries agreed to give up some of their autonomy in an effort to protect the world’s people and preserve global health.
History teacher Ms. Sibilia said in an interview, “The US leaving could impact disease surveillance, health collaboration with other countries, and allocating resources for research and funding. It is worth noting that countries’ mandatory contributions are based on GDP and population size, which is why the US leaving is such a big deal. For the WHO this is a tremendous loss in revenue and will have to try to make up the difference within the next 12 months.”
“Over the past 7 years [the WHO has] implemented the largest set of reforms in its history to transform our accountability, cost-effectiveness, and impact in countries,” said the organization in a statement discussing their regret for President Trump’s decision (CNN).
Currently, the agency operates in more than 150 locations worldwide in an effort to expand universal health coverage and oversee global response to health emergencies. Their efforts range from tackling yellow fever to ebola (CNN).
“The World Health Organization is an important international alliance to secure aid for underprivileged countries or areas where healthcare is scarce. I’m not sure if leaving WHO was a good decision for the United States since funds help financially support efforts like that,” said Ramapo Junior Bella Levison in an interview.
The U.S. withdrawal from WHO increases threats to the U.S. position in international diplomacy concerning public health, critics say. “It would simply remove our influence and leadership in global health at a very dangerous time in our history. We won’t be at the table. China will,” said Lawrence Gostin, a professor from Georgetown University (qtd. in NPR News). Gostin is a member of the Global Health Initiative faculty committee and director of the WHO Collaborating Center on National and Global Health Law (Georgetown University).
Soon after Trump withdrew the United States from the World Health Organization, he also recalled all U.S. employees at WHO.
The CDC has been ordered to stop all communication with the organization to further the U.S. isolation from the global health organization (NPR News). “This is unprecedented,” says Javier Guzman, the director of global health policy at the Center for Global Development (qtd. In NPR News).
As the U.S. navigates this transition, the international community watches closely, anticipating both challenges and opportunities in global health governance.
