America Ends Formal Ties with WHO After 78 Years

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Washington: The United States has officially completed its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), ending nearly 78 years of continuous membership in the United Nations’ leading global public health agency. This move concluded a process launched by President Donald Trump shortly after the start of his second presidential term in early 2025, based on longstanding criticisms of the WHO’s handling of recent pandemics and its governance structure.

 In a joint announcement, the U.S. Departments of Health & Human Services and State confirmed that all federal funding to the WHO has ceased, American personnel have been recalled from WHO headquarters in Geneva and from field offices, and formal U.S. participation in WHO governance, technical committees and disease-surveillance networks has ended. The administration says future global health work will proceed through direct partnerships with other nations, agencies and private organisations, rather than through the international body.

 The Trump administration has pointed to the WHO’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic including delays in declaring a global health emergency and concerns over transparency as primary reasons for withdrawal, arguing the organisation failed to adopt needed reforms and did not act independently of political influence. U.S. officials assert America will continue global health leadership through bilateral cooperation and independent initiatives.

 The decision has drawn strong criticism from global health experts and some global leaders, who warn that the absence of the United States historically the WHO’s largest financial backer and a major source of scientific expertise could weaken international disease preparedness and response, reduce global surveillance of outbreaks, and disrupt efforts such as vaccine strain selection and polio eradication programs. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called the withdrawal a “loss for the U.S. and the world,” urging continued cooperation on shared health threats.

 In response to the U.S. exit, California announced it will join the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, becoming the first U.S. state to formally align with WHO public health mechanisms despite the federal departure.

 The formal exit also leaves unresolved financial obligations, with the WHO reporting that the United States still owes hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid dues tied to past commitments. The WHO’s executive board is expected to discuss the implications of the U.S. departure and its outstanding payments in upcoming meetings.’