President Trump has formally initiated the withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organization.
The decision marks the culmination of Trump’s long-standing criticism of the WHO. Since 2020, he has attacked the agency for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and previously threatened to cut U.S. funding.
Exiting the World Health Organization (WHO) will have significant implications, including cutting off the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from access to the agency’s global health data. In 2020, for instance, China shared the genetic sequence of the novel coronavirus with the WHO, which then disseminated the information to other nations.
The WHO has also drawn ire from conservatives in recent years over its efforts to negotiate a “pandemic treaty.” The treaty aimed to bolster global preparedness by establishing legally binding policies for pathogen surveillance, data sharing, and local production of vaccines and treatments. Talks on the treaty collapsed last year, with some Republican lawmakers denouncing the agreement as a threat to American sovereignty.
The World Health Organization, founded in 1948 with significant U.S. support, operates as an agency of the United Nations. The U.S. has historically contributed a substantial portion of the WHO’s $6.8 billion annual budget.
A joint resolution passed by Congress during the WHO’s establishment requires the U.S. to provide a year’s notice and settle all financial obligations for the current fiscal year before officially exiting.
