Trump withdraws US from World Health Organisation for the second time

One of the executive actions of President Donald Trump on his first day back in the White House was to begin the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization.

He also ordered a comprehensive review of US foreign aid spending. Both moves fit into his isolationist “America First” approach to international affairs.

“So we paid $500 million to World Health (Organization) when I was here and I terminated it. They wanted us back so badly. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “It’s pretty sad, though; think of it. China pays 39 million and we pay 500 million, and China’s a bigger country.”

This is the second time he has done this in less than five years — a move many scientists fear could roll back decades-long gains made in fighting infectious diseases like AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis.

Experts have also cautioned that withdrawing from the organization could weaken the world’s defences against dangerous new outbreaks capable of triggering pandemics.

His move calls for pausing the future transfer of US government funds to the organization, recalling and reassigning federal personnel and contractors working with the WHO.

In July 2020, several months after WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic and as cases surged globally, Trump’s administration officially notified UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the US was planning to withdraw from WHO and suspend funding to the agency.

President Joe Biden reversed Trump’s decision on his first day in office in January 2021.

What is WHO, and why does this matter?

The UN’s specialized health agency is mandated to coordinate the world’s response to global health threats, including pox, Ebola, and polio outbreaks.

It also provides technical assistance to poorer countries, helps distribute scarce vaccines, supplies and treatments and sets guidelines for hundreds of health conditions, including mental health and cancer.

“Losing American resources would devastate WHO’s global surveillance and epidemic response efforts,” said Lawrence Gostin, the WHO Collaborating Center on Global Health Law director at Georgetown University. “It would make it more likely that we could see novel diseases spinning out of control, crossing borders, and potentially sparking a pandemic.”

The US joined WHO via a 1948 joint resolution passed by both chambers of Congress, which has subsequently been supported by all administrations. The resolution requires the US to provide a one-year notice period should it decide to leave WHO.

What does this mean for WHO?

It’s an extremely bad situation for the organisation. The US has historically been among WHO’s biggest donors, providing the UN health agency with hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of staffers with specialized public health expertise.

In the last decade, the US has given WHO about $160 million to $815 million every year. WHO’s yearly budget is about $2 billion to $3 billion. Losing US funding could cripple numerous global health initiatives, including the effort to eradicate polio, maternal and child health programs, and research to identify new viral threats.