US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to withdraw the country from the World Health Organization (WHO), citing reasons such as the agency’s “mishandling” of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trump previously took steps to withdraw the US from the global health organisation in 2020, but the move was later reversed by the Biden administration.
The order cites WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic… 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”.
It also states that WHO “continues to demand unfairly onerous payments from the US, far out of proportion with other countries’ assessed payments”, such as China’s.
The US was a founding member of WHO in 1948 and, alongside 193 other member states, has participated in shaping and governing the organisation’s work ever since.
The country must complete a one-year notice period before it officially leaves the organisation.
Responding to the announcement, WHO said: “We hope the US will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the [US] and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe.”
The move has also sparked backlash from groups across the US, with Tom Frieden, president and chief executive officer of US advocacy group Resolve to Save Lives, stating: “Withdrawing from WHO not only cuts crucial funding from the agency, but it also surrenders our role as a global health leader and silences America’s voice in critical decisions affecting global health security.”
Michele Bratcher Goodwin and Lawrence Gostin of the WHO Collaborating Centre for National and Global Health Law, the O’Neill Institute, said: “The [organisation] has been a cornerstone of global health governance, facilitating international cooperation to combat pandemics, reduce health inequities, and strengthen health systems worldwide. This decision risks undermining decades of progress.”
The announcement comes just days after WHO launched a $1.5bn emergency appeal to tackle “unprecedented” global health crises.
The 2025 Health Emergency Appeal is aimed at providing urgent humanitarian assistance to more than 300 million people affected by 42 ongoing health emergencies, including the global resurgence of cholera and the upsurge of mPox.