President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the United States out of the World Health Organization, which plays a key role in the detection, prevention and treatment of pandemics.
The directive about WHO was part of a flurry of executive orders that Trump issued on the day of his inauguration. It followed through on a promise he’d made in the 2024 presidential campaign ― and on a piece of unfinished business that dates back to his first term in office.
In 2020, as COVID-19 was first spreading across the U.S., Trump accused WHO of showing too much deference to China, where the pandemic started. He eventually ordered the U.S. out of the organization, but his administration didn’t have time to complete the process, which under U.S. law takes a full year.
President Joe Biden rescinded the order upon taking office, halting the process of withdrawal. With Monday’s directive from Trump, it will start over again.
WHO is a specialized agency within the United Nations and performs a variety of functions, including facilitating the sharing of data on emerging pathogens and coordinating health assistance to areas in need.
The agency has come in for criticism, as all organizations do, but the broad consensus of people working in public health ― including those who would like to see reforms ― is that it plays an essential role in promoting health and fighting threats to it.
Withdrawing from the agency would weaken its ability to fight outbreaks and other threats, these experts have warned, while leaving the U.S. government without access to information that could help it protect American citizens.
And though Trump’s executive order calls for White House officials to develop new mechanisms “necessary and appropriate to safeguard public health and fortify biosecurity,” it’s not clear what that would entail or how those new mechanisms could replicate the functions WHO preforms now.
“WHO is in many ways the eyes and the ears for the U.S. and other countries on health emergencies,” Thomas Bollyky, director of global health for the Council on Foreign Relations, told the health publication STAT in an interview.
The U.S. has long been a strong supporter of the agency, and its biggest funder, too ― which, Trump said on Monday, was part of the problem. “World health ripped us off,” Trump said at a news conference announcing the day’s executive orders.
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But Trump’s biggest beef with WHO has been the agency’s relationship with ― and posture toward ― China.
On Monday, public health experts warned that withdrawing from the agency could actually mean China has even more influence over global health policy.
“For the U.S., the implications are ceding that role to others ― China in particular ― and taking itself out of influencing international negotiations,” Jen Kates, senior vice president and director of global health and HIV policy for KFF, a nonpartisan source on health issues, told HuffPost via email. “But perhaps the biggest potential impact is when the next outbreak or pandemic hits ― not being part of the WHO will put the US at a disadvantage.”