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The United States made its departure from the World Health Organization (WHO) official this Thursday, according to the Department of Health, a decision based on an executive order signed by President Donald Trump in 2025 that raises concerns regarding its implications for global health and the millions in dues that Washington owes the organization.
On the day of his return to power, January 20, 2025, Trump signed an executive order which served as the basis for issuing a formal notice to withdraw from the United Nations specialized health agency.
Trump, who had already initiated the process during his first term (2017-2021) to withdraw the country from the organization due to what he considered poor management of the COVID-19 pandemic, insisted on that point once again in the executive order he signed.
In the text, he also criticized the WHO's role in "other global health crises," its inability to adopt reforms, and "its lack of independence from undue political influence" by other member states, a direct reference to China's influence.
The argument put forward by the Trump administration continues to hinge on the fact that countries with larger populations than the U.S. (such as China) do not pay the same volume of dues.
A U.S. official from the Department of Health and Human Services stressed to the media today that his country has paid up to 25% of the WHO's budget, that the organization has never had an American director-general, and that the agency itself had tried to prevent other countries from paying more dues due to the heavy burden Washington was carrying.
"There are numerous examples, both recent and historical, of the WHO's deficiencies, but the main point is that we paid them, we trusted them, and they failed us, and they took no responsibility for their failure," the official added.
"We will continue to work with countries and Ministries of Health, as we have for decades, and we will continue to develop those relationships and use them in a way that is mutually beneficial and respects the sovereignty of both our country and other countries," he stated in response to questions about the impact of the U.S. withdrawal on global health cooperation, especially regarding future pandemics.
When the WHO was founded in 1948, the U.S. joined the organization through a joint resolution of Congress which stipulated that, unlike other member nations, the United States reserved the right to withdraw from the agency.
Another U.S. official asserted today, in relation to the millions in dues that Washington owes, that the terms of that 1948 resolution do not include anything stating that, as a condition for leaving the WHO, "any payment must be made before the withdrawal becomes effective."
The Trump administration has insisted on several occasions that it has no intention of paying its dues for the 2024-2025 period, which are estimated to be between 260 and 280 million dollars.
[Publicidad]