President Donald Trump has announced the United States withdrawal from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The disruptive decision has already sparked criticism from public health experts on his first day back in the White House.
Trump has been a long-standing critic of the United Nations health agency.
His administration initially began the withdrawal process in July 2020, during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
However, the move was reversed in early 2021 by President Joe Biden, who prioritized keeping the U.S. engaged with the global health body in one of his first executive actions.
The new executive order outlines the reasons for the withdrawal, citing the WHO’s “mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic that emerged in Wuhan, China, its failure to implement critical reforms, and its susceptibility to political influence from member states.”
As Trump signed the order, he remarked to an aide, “That’s a big one,” referencing his 2020 decision and reiterating concerns over the disproportionate financial contributions made by the U.S. compared to other nations. In 2020, Trump frequently accused the WHO of assisting China in allegedly obscuring the origins of Covid-19 and enabling its global spread.
