Trump signs executive order to withdraw US from World Health Organization
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the evening of January 20 to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization. The WHO could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in funding, the publication writes Politico.

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In a move widely expected, the US will leave the WHO within a year of formal notice to the UN and the organisation itself. Trump has tasked newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio with the task.
Congressional approval is not required for such a move, but the United States must continue to pay membership dues in accordance with the 1948 resolution accepting WHO membership.
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Still, Trump ordered Rubio and the director of the Office of Management and Budget to “suspend any future U.S. Government funds, support, or resources to the WHO as expeditiously as practicable,” a move reminiscent of the first attempt to withdraw from the organization in 2020.
In addition, the president directed the two officials to “recall and reassign” U.S. government employees or contractors working with WHO and to find “credible and transparent” national and international partners to replace “essential functions previously performed by WHO.”
The executive order requires the secretary of state to halt negotiations on a pandemic agreement that WHO member countries have been working on for years, with a deadline set for completion in May.
Additionally, the order states that actions taken to implement amendments to the International Health Regulations, a technical set of rules governing responses to disease outbreaks and other issues, “will not be binding on the United States.”
Why is it important
The US withdrawal threatens the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars for the WHO's core budget.
The United States covers about a quarter of that budget through mandatory membership fees, but often contributes much more. In recent years, the amount has ranged from $163 million to $816 million, according to the think tank KFF.
Trump’s order notes that “WHO continues to unfairly demand excessive payments from the United States that far exceed the contributions of other countries.” He cites China as an example, which pays 90% less despite having a much larger population. Membership fees are based largely on the gross domestic product of each WHO country.
The loss of such significant funding will limit WHO's ability to respond quickly and effectively to infectious disease outbreaks and other emergencies.
Experts say the U.S. expects to lose access to the global network that determines the annual flu vaccine mix in exchange, as well as a weakened ability of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to monitor and contain health threats abroad.
“There are places where we simply cannot send CDC epidemiologists because it would be unsafe,” said Dr. Tom Frieden, who led the agency for eight years during the Obama administration.
In addition, American pharmaceutical companies could lose WHO support in selling their products around the world. That's because the World Health Organization's certification system, which approves drugs, vaccines, and medical supplies for global use and which many developing countries rely on, could be harmed by the loss of U.S. funding.
История вопроса
This is Trump's second attempt to withdraw the US from the World Health Organization.
In July 2020, he sent a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announcing the US's intention to withdraw from the organization within a year. At the time, the 45th president accused the organization of helping China mislead the world about the spread of COVID-19.
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However, Trump lost the election, and in January 2021, President Joe Biden reversed his decision.
This time, Trump will remain in office when the decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organization takes effect.
However, unlike in 2020, the WHO will be able to offset some of the financial losses from America's withdrawal.
The World Health Organization launched a new round of funding last year to raise about $7 billion. The goal is to mobilize “predictable and flexible resources” from more donors for WHO’s core work between 2025 and 2028. By the end of last year, the organization said it had already received pledges for at least half the amount it had pledged.
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