(VOVWORLD) - The United States will exit the World Health Organization, President Donald Trump said on Monday, adding that the global health agency had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises.
 US President Donald Trump signs an executive order withdrawing the United States from the WHO on January 20, 2025. (Photo: AFP) |
“We paid 500 million USD to World Health when I was here, and I terminated it," Trump said.
Trump said the WHO had failed to act independently from the "inappropriate political influence of WHO member states" and required "unfairly onerous payments" from the US that were disproportionate to the sums provided by other, larger countries.
The US departure will likely put at risk programs across the organization, notably those tackling tuberculosis, the world’s biggest infectious disease killer, as well as HIV/AIDS and other health emergencies.
Trump's withdrawal from the WHO is not unexpected. He took steps to quit the body in 2020, during his first term as president.
The move means the US will leave the United Nations health agency in 12 months' time and stop all financial contributions to its work. Under US law, leaving the WHO requires a one-year notice period, and the payment of any outstanding fees.
The United States is by far the WHO's biggest financial backer, contributing around 18% of its overall funding. WHO's most recent two-year budget, for 2024-2025, was 6.8 billion USD.