US Completes Withdrawal from World Health Organisation

ASSOCIATED PRESS, NEW YORK, JAN 23, 2026 : The US has finalised its withdrawal from the World Health Organisation, one year after President Donald Trump announced America was ending its 78-year-old commitment, federal officials said Thursday. But it is hardly a clean break.

The US owes more than USD 130 million to the global health agency, according to WHO. Trump administration officials acknowledge that they have not finished working out some issues, such as lost access to data from other countries that could give America an early warning of a new pandemic.

The withdrawal will hurt the global response to new outbreaks and will hobble the ability of US scientists and pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines and medicines against new threats, said Lawrence Gostin, a public health law expert at Georgetown University.

“In my opinion, it’s the most ruinous presidential decision in my lifetime,” he said.

The WHO is the United Nations’ specialised health agency and is mandated to coordinate the response to global health threats, such as outbreaks of mpox, Ebola, and polio. It also provides technical assistance to poorer countries, helps distribute scarce vaccines, supplies, and treatments, and sets guidelines for hundreds of health conditions, including mental health and cancer. Nearly every country in the world is a member.

US officials helped lead the WHO’s creation, and America has long been among the organisation’s biggest donors, providing hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of staffers with specialised public health expertise.

On average, the US pays USD 111 million a year in member dues to the WHO and roughly USD 570 million more in annual voluntary contributions, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.

In an executive order issued right after taking office, Trump said the US was withdrawing from WHO due to the organisation’s mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic and other global health crises. He also cited the agency’s “failure to adopt urgently needed reforms” and its “inability to demonstrate independence from the inappropriate political influence of WHO member states.”

WHO, like other public health organisations, made costly mistakes during the pandemic, including at one point advising people against wearing masks. It also asserted that COVID-19 was not airborne, a stance it did not officially reverse until 2024.

Another Trump administration complaint: none of WHO’s chief executives – there have been nine since the organisation was created in 1948 – have been Americans. Administration officials viewed that as unfair given how much the WHO relies on US financial contributions and on US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention personnel.

Experts say the US exit could cripple numerous global health initiatives, including the effort to eradicate polio, maternal and child health programmes, and research to identify new viral threats. Dr Ronald Nahass, president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, called the US withdrawal “shortsighted and misguided” and “scientifically reckless.”

The US has ceased official participation in WHO-sponsored committees, leadership bodies, governance structures, and technical working groups. That would seem to include the WHO group that assesses what flu strains are circulating and makes critical decisions about updating flu shots. It also signals that the US is no longer participating in global flu information-sharing that guides vaccine decisions.

The US is legally required to give notice one year in advance of withdrawal – which it did – but also to pay any outstanding financial obligations. The US has not paid any of its dues for 2024 and 2025, leaving a balance of more than USD 133 million, according to WHO.

An administration official denied that requirement on Thursday, saying the US had no obligation to pay prior to withdrawing as a member.