The US has withdrawn from the World Health Organization and stopped funding it
Фото: Reuters
The United States has formally completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization, leaving behind an unpaid debt of about $260 million. The U.S. government has completely stopped funding the organization and participating in its governing bodies and working groups.
This was reported by Bloomberg .
The withdrawal process was completed 1 year after US President Donald Trump signed the relevant executive order on the first day of his second term. The document accused the WHO of an inadequate response to the Covid pandemic, a lack of reform and dependence on political influence.
The US Department of Health and Human Services said that all US funding to the WHO has been suspended, and US staff have been withdrawn from all WHO offices, including headquarters. The US has also ended its participation in all WHO governing bodies and working groups.
“There is no requirement in the law to first repay the debt before leaving the organization,” a senior official from the US Department of Health and Human Services said during a conversation with reporters.
According to WHO estimates, the US debt is about $260 million as of January 2025. At the same time, according to a 1948 US Congressional resolution, to withdraw from the organization, a country must provide annual notice and pay all debts, which WHO has separately confirmed.
“This is a very messy divorce,” said Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown University.
The US withdrawal has deprived the WHO of its largest donor. The United States provided the organization with almost $1.3 billion in 2022-2023. Experts estimate that the lack of these funds could jeopardize programs to combat HIV, polio and Ebola.
“Withdrawing from the World Health Organization is scientifically irresponsible,” said Ronald Nagass, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
The WHO reported that it plans to discuss possible legal action regarding the US debt at the assembly in May, but the organization does not have enforcement mechanisms.
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