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One year after President Donald Trump ordered the US to withdraw from the World Health Organisation, the process was formally completed Thursday, though the nation is leaving behind unpaid debt of roughly $260 million.<\/p>\n
All funding to the health agency has been terminated and people working with the WHO have been recalled from all offices and its headquarters, the Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday. The US has also ended all participation in WHO-sponsored leadership bodies and working groups.<\/p>\n
Trump signed the order to withdraw from the WHO on the first day of his second term, accusing it of mishandling the Covid pandemic, failing to adopt reforms and a lack of independence from \u201cinappropriate political influence.\u201d<\/p>\n
To leave from the organisation, the US must provide a one-year notice and pay off any debts owed, according to a 1948 Congressional resolution, which the WHO confirmed. A senior HHS official said on a call with reporters there\u2019s no requirement in statute to settle the debt before exiting the agency.<\/p>\n
The debt totals about $260 million as calculated by the WHO in January 2025.<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s a very messy divorce,\u201d said Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO collaborating center on national and global health law at Georgetown University.<\/p>\n
The withdrawal notice left the health organisation without its top donor. Between 2022 and 2023, the US contributed nearly $1.3 billion to the WHO. Without the money, the agency\u2019s work to contain diseases like HIV, polio and Ebola are at risk.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithdrawing from the World Health Organisation is scientifically reckless,\u201d said Ronald Nahass, president of the Infections Disease Society of America. Without the organisation\u2019s influenza response and data tracking, the US will be less prepared to match future vaccines to circulating strains, he said.<\/p>\n
The WHO\u2019s biannual flu vaccine meeting is set to take place in February. A senior HHS official said there are ongoing conversations to determine the US involvement in the discussions.<\/p>\n
After Trump signed the executive order, the European Union urged the US to reconsider and called on members to reinforce their commitments. The WHO has 193 other member states. Argentina has also announced its intent to leave the organisation.<\/p>\n
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The WHO is set to discuss legal options for the US debt at its upcoming assembly meeting in May. But there\u2019s no enforcement power at the WHO\u2019s disposal, Gostin said. The organisation could claim the US is still a member \u2014 albeit an inactive one \u2014 with its outstanding bill.<\/p>\n
The Trump administration has also been pulling back from other global health areas. Last year, Elon Musk\u2019s Department of Government Efficiency gutted the US Agency for International Development that focused on humanitarian relief and health programs. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cut US support from the Global Vaccine Alliance that provides immunizations to low-income countries.<\/p>\n
The State Department has started work on global health initiatives with roughly 60 countries to expand oversight for disease surveillance and manage collaboration, which could serve as a workaround for the WHO\u2019s Pandemic Agreement.<\/p>\n
A senior HHS official said more announcements on US global health strategy will be released in the coming months. There are no current or future plans to rejoin the WHO, the official said.<\/p>\n
\u00a9 2026 Bloomberg<\/p>\n
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