In order to start the process of the United States’ withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO), US President Donald Trump has issued an executive order.
After returning to the White House, the newly inaugurated US president approved the document and said, “Oh, that’s a big one.” On his first day in office, he signed scores of executive acts, including this one.
Trump has now ordered the US to leave the WHO for the second time.
Trump started the process of withdrawing from the Geneva-based organization during the epidemic because he was unhappy with how the international organization handled COVID-19. Later, President Joe Biden changed his mind.
Carrying out this executive action on day one makes it more likely the US will formally leave the global agency.
“They wanted us back so badly so we’ll see what happens,” Trump said in the Oval Office, referring to the WHO, perhaps hinting the US might return eventually.
According to the order, the United States was pulling out “because of the organization’s poor management of the Covid-19 pandemic that resulted from Wuhan, China, and other worldwide health emergencies, its incapacity to implement necessary reforms, and its incapacity to exhibit independence from the unwarranted political influence of WHO member states.”
The executive order also claimed that the US’s “unfairly onerous payments” to the United Nations agency WHO were the cause of the withdrawal.
The United States remained the greatest donor to the World Health Organization under the Biden administration, contributing about one-fifth of its budget in 2023.
Trump’s decision to leave the WHO has drawn criticism from public health professionals, who caution that there may be negative health effects for Americans.
Ashish Jha, who formerly worked as Covid-19 response co-ordinator under President Biden, previously warned leaving would “harm not only the health of people around the world, but also US leadership and scientific prowess”.
“It’s a cataclysmic presidential decision. Withdrawal is a grievous wound to world health, but a still deeper wound to the US,” Lawrence Gostin, a global public health expert and Georgetown University professor said.
