US set to quit World Health Organization
LONDON: The US quits World Health Organization on Thursday as President Donald Trump finalises Washington’s withdrawal from the UN health agency, despite warnings that the move could harm both American and global health systems and may violate US domestic law.
President Trump issued formal notice of withdrawal on the first day of his presidency in 2025 through an executive order. Under US law, a one-year notice period is required, along with the payment of all outstanding membership dues, before the exit can legally take effect.
However, the World Health Organization has said that the United States has not paid nearly $260 million in dues owed for 2024 and 2025. Legal experts argue that the failure to clear these payments places the withdrawal in violation of US law.
On Thursday, a US State Department spokesperson said the WHO had failed to contain, manage and share critical health information, claiming those failures cost the United States trillions of dollars. The spokesperson confirmed that President Trump had exercised his authority to pause all future US funding, support and resources to the WHO.
“The American people have paid more than enough to this organization, and this economic hit is beyond a down payment on any financial obligations,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement.
Global health leaders have repeatedly urged Washington to reconsider its decision. WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said earlier this month that a US withdrawal would be damaging for both sides.
“Withdrawing from the WHO is a loss for the United States, and it’s a loss for the rest of the world,” Tedros told reporters, adding that he hoped the US would eventually rejoin the agency.
A WHO spokesperson confirmed that member states will discuss the US exit and its implications during the organization’s executive board meeting in February.
Lawrence Gostin, founding director of the O’Neill Institute for Global Health Law at Georgetown University, described the move as a clear breach of US law but said the administration was unlikely to face consequences.
“This is a clear violation of US law, but President Trump is highly likely to get away with it,” he told Reuters.
Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation and a major funder of global health initiatives, said he did not expect the US to reverse its decision in the near future.
“I don’t think the US will be coming back to WHO anytime soon,” Gates said, adding that he would continue to advocate for cooperation. “The world needs the World Health Organization.”
The departure of the United States has already triggered a financial crisis within the WHO. Washington has traditionally been the agency’s largest donor, providing around 18% of its total funding. The WHO has since cut its senior management team by half, reduced programmes across departments and plans to lay off around a quarter of its staff by mid-2026.
The agency said it has continued sharing information with US authorities over the past year, but it remains unclear how cooperation will function once the withdrawal is fully implemented.
Public health experts warn that the move could weaken global disease surveillance and emergency response systems, increasing risks for all countries, including the United States.
“The US withdrawal from WHO could weaken the systems and collaborations the world relies on to detect, prevent and respond to health threats,” said Kelly Henning, public health programme lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies.
