President Donald Trump signed the executive order Monday afternoon Withdrawal of the United States from the World Health Organizationsome public health experts say it will put the nation at a huge disadvantage.
in the year the orderTrump has accused the WHO of “mishandling” the COVID-19 pandemic, failing to adopt “urgently needed reforms” and being politically influenced by other member states.
The President said that the withdrawal was “to be stolen”.
“Everybody rips the United States off and that’s it, it’s not going to happen again,” Trump said Monday night when asked by a reporter about his experience leading the country through the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of the WHO in putting one together. global response to pandemics.
The text of the executive order describes an “unfair” demand for “hard payments from the United States out of proportion to payments from other countries.”
“China, with a population of 1.4 billion, has 300 percent of the population of the United States, but contributes nearly 90 percent less to WHO,” the executive order says.
Trump’s executive order is an attempt to complete a process that began in the final months of his first term. The president temporarily cut funding and signed an executive order in July 2020 to withdraw the US from the WHO, however, because it requires withdrawal. one year noticeFormer President Joe Biden reversed the decision upon taking office in January 2021.
Public health experts who spoke to ABC News said they are concerned that withdrawing from the WHO will put the U.S. at a disadvantage in responding to health crises at home and abroad.
“The U.S. pulling out of the WHO is disappointing news. It’s a strategic mistake in many ways for us as a country,” Dr. Daniele Fallin, dean of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, told ABC News.
“Not being part of the WHO means that not only do we threaten the health of Americans and people around the world, but we also lose our position as a leader in global health, and I’m very concerned about that,” he added. .
Here’s what experts say would be the consequences of the US leaving the WHO:
President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Jan. 20, 2025.
Carlos Barria/Reuters
The US may be missing early warnings of the disease
Removing the US from the WHO could hamper efforts to tackle current public health problems such as bird flu, experts say.
Human cases have been diagnosed across the country since April 2024, with 67 confirmed as of Monday. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC and other public health officials say there is currently no evidence of human-to-human transmission and the risk to the general public is low. However, federal health officials have prepared millions of vials of a bird flu vaccine as a precautionary measure, should it become necessary.
Last year, the WHO announced it launched an initiative to help accelerate human avian influenza vaccine development using messenger RNA (mRNA) technology.
Not being part of the WHO could mean losing the ability to cooperate in disease preparedness and response, as well as the ability to exchange information about emerging threats to public health, experts said.
The US also contributes heavily to WHO’s work, including collaborations with CDC and the National Institutes of Health, on cancer prevention and global health security.
“I think of WHO as a network of countries around the world that inform and protect each other when health problems arise, whether the health problems come into the United States or the health problems go outside the United States.” Dr. Perry Halkitis, Rutgers School of Public Health in New Jersey dean, told ABC News. “And so it’s a disadvantage for people, and it’s a disadvantage for the United States to get the relevant, timely, relevant information (that they need).”
The US may play a smaller role in responding to global health crises
Director General of WHO Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus responded to the retirement announcement by a statement early Tuesday morning, expressing “regret” to hear the news.
“For more than seven decades, WHO and the US have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats,” his statement said, in part. “Together, we have ended smallpox, and together we have pushed polio to the brink of eradication. American organizations have supported and benefited from membership in WHO.”
Public health experts said not being a part of the WHO when those initiatives were underway — and, in some cases, still are — would be detrimental to progress at home and abroad.
The World Health Organization in the background of the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Lian Yi/Xinhua via Getty Images
Thomas Bollyky, director of the health program at the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, called the executive order to remove the US from the WHO “a terrible mistake.”
He said he’s concerned that it comes at the same time Trump signed another executive order to put one together 90-day moratorium on all foreign aid spending.
“Many US global health programs fund the ongoing treatment of individuals for malaria or HIV/AIDS,” he told ABC News. “A 90-day pause could significantly disrupt the operation of these programs, and it is not entirely certain how the strategy review that will take place during that time will affect global health programs going forward.”
“The WHO is not a perfect organization, but it plays an irreplaceable role in the global outbreak response and, by removing it, reduces the ability of the United States to positively influence that outbreak response. It makes Americans less safe,” Bollyky added. .
Tesla CEO and tech billionaire Elon Musk, tapped by Trump to head the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), responded to the WHO’s statement on X. with a kiss face emoji Tuesday morning
ABC News’ Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
