Synopsis
President Donald Trump announced the United States' withdrawal from the World Health Organisation, citing concerns over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and other global health issues. This decision represents a notable shift in US health policy and may impact international efforts to manage pandemics.Key Takeaways
- Trump's decision to withdraw from the WHO aligns with his longstanding criticism of the organization.
- The executive order cites failures in handling the Covid-19 pandemic as a primary reason for the withdrawal.
- Concerns have been raised about the impact on global health collaboration and disease surveillance.
- Trump has nominated critics of the WHO to key health positions.
- The WHO has expressed the need for time during the transition period.
New York, Jan 21 (NationPress) President Donald Trump declared on Monday that the United States is withdrawing from the World Health Organisation, marking a significant decision that severs ties with the UN's public health body right at the start of his administration.
Trump has consistently criticized the WHO, and his administration officially began the withdrawal process in July 2020 amidst the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
The executive order outlines reasons for the US withdrawal, citing the “organisation's mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China, alongside other global health crises. It criticized the WHO for its failure to implement necessary reforms urgently and its perceived lack of independence from political influence of its member states.
“That’s a big one,” Trump remarked to an aide while signing the executive order, referring to his 2020 decision, expressing his view that the US was contributing disproportionately in funding compared to other nations.
The order additionally stated that the WHO “continues to demand unfairly onerous payments” from the United States.
This decision aligns with Trump’s ongoing critique of the UN health agency and signifies a substantial change in US global health policy, potentially isolating Washington from collaborative international efforts to combat pandemics.
Trump has appointed several critics of the WHO to key public health roles, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a vaccine skeptic nominated for the position of secretary of Health and Human Services, which oversees major US health agencies like the CDC and FDA.
Although Trump initiated the year-long withdrawal process in 2020, six months later, his successor, President Joe Biden, reversed this decision.
The US President has maintained that the agency failed to hold China accountable for the initial spread of Covid-19. He has frequently labeled the WHO as a puppet of Beijing and pledged to redirect US funding towards domestic health initiatives.
A spokesperson for the WHO refrained from commenting directly but referred to remarks made by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a press briefing on December 10 when questioned about the potential withdrawal. Tedros mentioned that the WHO required time and space for the transition and expressed confidence that nations could finalize a pandemic agreement by May 2025.
Critics caution that a US withdrawal could weaken global disease surveillance and emergency response systems.
