President Trump Signs Executive Order Withdrawing United States From World Health Organization

President Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization (WHO).

“The United States noticed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2020 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.  In addition, the WHO continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the United States, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments.  China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, yet contributes nearly 90 percent less to the WHO,” the executive order reads.

WATCH:

President Trump withdraws the United States from the World Health Organization pic.twitter.com/YyKYMP53Ur

— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) January 21, 2025

Per Reuters:

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 U.S. that were disproportionate to the sums provided by other, larger countries, such as China.

“World Health ripped us off, everybody rips off the United States. It’s not going to happen anymore,” Trump said at the signing of an executive order on the withdrawal, shortly after his inauguration to a second term.

The WHO said on Tuesday that it regretted the move from its top donor country.

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“We hope that the United States will reconsider, and we really hope that there will be constructive dialogue for the benefit of everyone, for Americans but also for people around the world,” WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarević told reporters in Geneva.

The move sets a 12-month notice period for the U.S. to leave the United Nations health agency and stop all financial contributions to its work. 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.

“The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization. WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s people, including Americans, by addressing the root causes of disease, building stronger health systems, and detecting, preventing and responding to health emergencies, including disease outbreaks, often in dangerous places where others cannot go,” the WHO commented.

“The United States was a founding member of WHO in 1948 and has participated in shaping and governing WHO’s work ever since, alongside 193 other Member States, including through its active participation in the World Health Assembly and Executive Board. For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats. Together, we ended smallpox, and together we have brought polio to the brink of eradication. American institutions have contributed to and benefited from membership in WHO,” it continued.

“With the participation of the United States and other Member States, WHO has over the past 7 years implemented the largest set of reforms in its history, to transform our accountability, cost-effectiveness, and impact in countries. This work continues. We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe,” it added.

WHO comments on United States announcement of intent to withdraw

The World Health Organization regrets the announcement that the United States of America intends to withdraw from the Organization.

WHO plays a crucial role in protecting the health and security of the world’s… pic.twitter.com/DT3QJ49bhb

— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 21, 2025

CNN reports:

While lawmakers from both parties had criticized the WHO in 2020 when Trump first decided to pull out, many denounced the president’s decision to withdraw during a once-in-a-century global pandemic. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the time called it “an act of true senselessness.” And since-retired Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander — then-chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee — said he disagreed with Trump’s decision.

Dr. Ashish Jha, who served as White House Covid-19 response coordinator during the Biden administration, called Trump’s decision to withdraw from the WHO in his second term a “strategic error.”

“WHO is a pretty essential organization — and with America’s withdrawal, it creates a political vacuum that only one country can fill — and that is China,” Jha said in an interview with CNN on Monday.

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He predicted that China will step up for the organization in the absence of US funding and leadership, which could, in turn, “give China more political influence around the world.”

Lawrence Gostin, a public health law professor at Georgetown University, said in a post on X that Trump’s pulling out of the WHO is “the most momentous of all” of Trump’s executive actions Monday.

Read the full executive order HERE.

This is a Guest Post from our friends over at 100 Percent Fed Up.

View the original article here.