In one of his first official acts as president of the United States, Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO).
The withdrawal will take effect in 12 months, once the United Nations (UN) has been formally notified.
The US is the global health agency’s biggest donor and contributes about 18 per cent of funding.
Experts say the withdrawal will diminish the WHO’s ability to deal with public health threats around the world, and the agency and international organisations say they hope that Trump will reconsider.
Why has Trump withdrawn the US from the WHO?
Trump has said the WHO had mishandled the COVID-19 pandemic and other international health crises and failed to act independently from the political influence of member states.
He said the WHO has required payments from the US disproportionate to the sums provided by other large countries, such as China, and said the US was being “ripped off”.
“When [Joe] Biden came back, they came back for 500 million ($797 million). He knew that you had to come back for 39 million ($62.2 million). They wanted us back so badly,” Trump said.
“So we’ll see what happens. 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 Trump has sought to withdraw from the WHO after accusing the organisation of helping China “mislead the world” about the origins of COVID-19.
But that withdrawal did not take effect as it was withdrawn by Joe Biden after he won the 2020 election.
How will it impact global public health?
Experts have warned the withdrawal will have significant impacts on global health.
The WHO’s two-year budget for 2024-2025 was US$6.8 billion ($10.8 billion), and during that period, the US financed 75 per cent of WHO’s program for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases and over half of contributions to combat tuberculosis.
In addition to ending this funding, Trump’s order said US staff and contractors working with the WHO would be recalled and reassigned.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has worked closely with the WHO, and has sent about 30 staff to Geneva to collaborate on research and outbreaks.
Terry Slevin, CEO of the Public Health Association of Australia, described Trump’s order as “disappointing, but not surprising”.
He said it would impact the WHO’s capacity to deal with health emergencies, health threats, and disease outbreaks — and poor countries would be most affected.
“The WHO will have to cut its cloth accordingly to navigate this … they’ve probably anticipated it and will continue their work, albeit with less resources,” he said.
“And like any organisation with less money, it means it’s constrained about what it can achieve and it’ll have to very much focus on specific high-order priorities and some of the middle-order priorities won’t get done,” Slevin said.
He said it would also impact the WHO’s ability to respond to outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and issue public health advice.
“Every country around the world can and should rely upon the WHO for expert advice,” he said.
“By withdrawing funds, the US just simply diminishes the capacity of that important international public health agency.”
How will it impact Australia?
Slevin said due to its relative wealth and “sophisticated health system”, Australia would be able to “cope quite well” with the WHO’s diminished funding throughout Trump’s four-year term.
“But if this decision extends beyond the current administration, then that further diminishes that international public health capacity, and that’s absolutely bad news,” he said.
Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus shared a statement after Donald Trump announced the decision to withdraw from the WHO. Source: AAP / EPA
Slevin said the role of the WHO includes highlighting public health priorities, keeping across international trends and data, and sharing intelligence and expertise.
If the WHO has diminished function, he said this reduces countries’ capacities to keep people healthy.
“This decision … is certainly going in the wrong direction for the US,” he said.
“It’s going in the wrong direction internationally through the WHO, and I hope it’s not the direction that Australia follows.”
How has the WHO responded?
In , the WHO said it “regrets” Trump’s decision to withdraw from the WHO.
“For over seven decades, WHO and the USA have saved countless lives and protected Americans and all people from health threats,” the statement said.
“Together, we ended smallpox, and together, we have brought polio to the brink of eradication.”
According to the statement, American institutions have “contributed to and benefited from” membership in WHO.
“We hope the United States will reconsider and we look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue to maintain the partnership between the USA and WHO, for the benefit of the health and well-being of millions of people around the globe,” the statement said.
The European Union has also expressed concern about the announcement, and a spokesperson said the EU hopes the decision is still under review.
“We see with concern the announcement to withdraw from the WHO by the United States and we trust that the US administration will consider all this ahead of the formal withdrawal,” a spokesperson said at the European Commission’s daily press briefing.
German health minister Karl Lauterbach also expressed concern over the decision, and said he hoped Trump would reconsider.
“The new US president’s announcement to withdraw from the WHO is a serious blow to the international fight against global health crises.
“We will try to persuade Donald Trump to reconsider this decision.”
— Additional reporting by Reuters.
