The United States has completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization. This ends U.S. involvement in the U.N. health body after a year-long process started by President Donald Trump.
As part of an announcement made by the U.S. government on Thursday, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the United States had terminated its participation in the World Health Organization, as well as all funding and staffing.
The administration said it will only engage with the Geneva-based agency on actions it determines are necessary to fulfill its withdrawal and to protect American citizens from infectious disease risks. The administration said it will work with other countries and institutions on global health issues through bilateral and results-oriented engagement and not through WHO programs.
This statement accused WHO of failure in managing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, including what it termed as delays in the release of information, as well as the input of political forces that affected the smooth release of essential information. The administration has been critical of WHO governance, claiming that reforms were not implemented even after the pandemic.
Rubio and Kennedy said in a joint statement that the WHO “refused to hand over the American flag that hung in front of it” and that it denies the US withdrew and that compensation was owed.
This action is a result of President Trump’s Executive Order No. 14155, which was signed on Jan. 20, 2025. This executive order instructed the United States to commence its withdrawal and revoked a presidential letter issued in 2021 that reversed a prior notification of United States withdrawal.
The United States is a founding member of the WHO. It has been a major player in global health activities for decades in relation to detecting outbreaks and vaccination programs, as well as responding to health emergencies. It stated its intention to continue its work on global health security in a less expansive form in order to eliminate bureaucratic waste.
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