US WITHDRAWAL FROM WHO IS A LOSS FOR EVERYONE: WHO DIRECTOR GENERAL TEDROS

Thu 22 January 2026:

Thursday marks one year since US President Donald Trump ordered the country’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) just hours after taking office.

According to an agreement between the US and the Geneva-based UN agency, the withdrawal is due to be effective as of Thursday after the US saw out a mandatory one-year notice period.

Theoretically, one of the conditions for withdrawal specified in the agreement has not been met as the US failed to pay its contributions in full as agreed. However, the WHO has no means of demanding the money or refusing the withdrawal.

“I hope that the US will reconsider its decision and rejoin WHO,” Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva, adding that everyone loses with the move.

“Withdrawal is a loss for the US and also a loss for the rest of the world,” Tedros said, adding it was not about money but about cooperation and solidarity.

Among other things, the WHO has early warning systems for outbreaks of potentially dangerous diseases. It also coordinates the composition of flu vaccines for the coming season, after analysing the pathogens circulating worldwide.

The US is no longer participating in either of these activities. The rest of the world must now do without important US expertise.

Trump’s anger with the WHO dates back to the coronavirus pandemic. He tried to have the US leave the organization during his first term in office. But his successor, Joe Biden, became president before the one-year deadline was reached and reversed Trump’s order.

Trump accuses the WHO of misusing funds and mishandling the pandemic.

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After Trump returned to the White House, the US did not pay the outstanding membership fees for 2024 or 2025, totalling around $280 million. The US Department of State did not comment on this when asked.

Last week, the department told US broadcaster NPR that there would be no further funding, saying that US taxpayers had already incurred excessive costs due to the WHO’s failure to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

For years, the US was by far the largest contributor. It consistently paid many times the fixed membership fee on a voluntary basis, often covering more than 15% of the organization’s budget.

The WHO has been forced to implement a strict austerity programme. By the middle of 2026, the number of employees will have shrunk by around a fifth to around 7,300, compared with the beginning of 2025. The budget has been cut by a similar amount.

-DPA

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