The United States officially left the World Health Organization on 22 January, triggering a financial and operational crisis at the United Nations health agency. The move follows a year of warnings from global health experts that a U.S. exit could undermine public health at home and abroad.
President Donald Trump gave notice of the departure via an executive order on his first day in office in 2025, citing failures in WHO’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to a press release from the U.S. Health and State Departments, the U.S. will only work with the WHO in a limited fashion in order to effectuate the withdrawal.
A senior U.S. health official confirmed that the country has “no plans to participate as an observer, and we have no plans of rejoining,” adding that Washington will work directly with other nations on disease surveillance and public health priorities.
The departure comes amid a dispute over U.S.-owed fees, estimated at $260 million for 2024 and 2025.
U.S. was supposed to give one-year notice, which it did, and during that period pay all outstanding fees - around $260 million - before departing.
A State Department spokesperson said earlier on Thursday that “the American people have paid more than enough,” and that future funding transfers would be paused. The Health and Human Services Department said the organization had cost the U.S. trillions of dollars.
Witnesses reported that the U.S. flag was removed from outside WHO headquarters in Geneva on Thursday (22 January).
The move forms part of a broader trend of U.S. withdrawals from UN organisations, raising concerns that President Trump’s recently launched Board of Peace could further weaken multilateral institutions.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, along with global health experts including Bill Gates, urged Washington to reconsider.
Gates, speaking at World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, Switzerland, said, “The world needs the World Health Organization,” while Georgetown University’s Lawrence Gostin described the move as “a clear violation of U.S. law,” though Trump is “highly likely to get away with it.”
The U.S. exit has left the WHO facing a financial crisis, having contributed roughly 18% of its budget.
The agency plans to cut management staff by half and reduce overall staffing by about a quarter by mid‑year.
Experts warn that this may weaken global systems to detect, prevent, and respond to health threats.
Kelly Henning of Bloomberg Philanthropies said, “The U.S. withdrawal from WHO could weaken the systems and collaborations the world relies on.”
WHO member states are set to discuss the U.S. departure at the executive board meeting in February. While the agency says it has continued sharing information with Washington, the exact terms of future collaboration remain unclear.
Russia’s car market is continuing to receive tens of thousands of foreign-brand vehicles via China despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-s...
Azerbaijan’s State Security Service has filed charges against a group of people accused of belonging to a criminal network alleged to have attempted...
Russia has fully blocked WhatsApp for failing to comply with local legislation, the Kremlin said on Thursday, marking a sharp escalation in Moscow’s...
Norwegian police searched the homes of former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland on Thursday (12 February) as part of an ongoing investigation into all...
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter as his successor, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday....
Russia’s car market is continuing to receive tens of thousands of foreign-brand vehicles via China despite sanctions imposed after Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a journalistic investigation has found.
Azerbaijan’s State Security Service has filed charges against a group of people accused of belonging to a criminal network alleged to have attempted to forcibly seize state power. It's claimed they tried to alter the constitutional structure, with the support of foreign intelligence agencies.
Norwegian police searched the homes of former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland on Thursday (12 February) as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged ties between prominent Norwegians and the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, authorities and media reports said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter as his successor, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis arrived in Ankara on Wednesday, where Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held an official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace, marking the start of high-level talks between the two NATO allies.
A senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader said on Tuesday that negotiations with the United States must remain focused on the nuclear issue and be grounded in realism, as Washington and Tehran prepare to resume talks mediated by Oman.
James Van Der Beek, who rose to fame as Dawson Leery in the hit teen drama Dawson’s Creek, has died aged 48 following a battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
China became Brazil’s largest source of imported vehicles in January, overtaking long-time leader Argentina in a shift that underscores Beijing’s rapidly expanding influence in one of Latin America’s biggest auto markets.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said a bridge project linking Canada’s Ontario province with the U.S. state of Michigan would contribute to cooperation between the two countries.
Norwegian police searched the homes of former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland on Thursday (12 February) as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged ties between prominent Norwegians and the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, authorities and media reports said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has chosen his teenage daughter as his successor, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers on Thursday.
Belgian police raided offices of the European Commission in Brussels on Thursday (12 February) as part of an investigation into the sale of European Union real estate assets in 2024, the Financial Times reported.
Polls have close in Bangladesh's first general election since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s government, marking a pivotal moment in the country’s political transition. Turnout reached 47.91% by early afternoon, according to partial data from election authorities.
Stalled U.S.–Iran talks and mounting regional tensions are exposing a growing strategic rift between Washington and Tel Aviv over how to confront Tehran, political analyst James M. Dorsey says, exposing stark differences in approach at a critical moment.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment